All About The Doctor and Jamie
by GM Andy
Summary: Shortly after his first regeneration the Doctor finds himself coping with many new problems, mental & physical. Tossed into this is James Robert McCrimmon. This is their story. Meeting-Bonding-Falling. Is someone mucking about in Time? Second/Jamie Slash
1. They say, They don't trust

A/N: _This is a detailed side story for my Doctor Who AU 'Verse. It's 'All About' Jamie and the Doctor. How they met, what adventures they had, and finally why they were parted. It's a prequel to **Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse** even though I'm writing it now, and mean it to be read in conjunction with **Doctor Who and the Tangled Web.** This is meant for those folks with no exposure to the second Doctor, and starts with the serial "The Highlanders" in which we first meet James Robert McCrimmon. Scenes that don't have either the Doctor or Jamie directly involved will not be included. Transcripts of the episodes are used as reference for dialogue, along with photonovels where the BBC has lost / destroyed them. Inspiration and Titles come from the T.a.t.u song "All About Us" that was used for the video featuring this ship. See TARDIS Parking for the links to both Transcripts and video. _

**This is a revised chapter! It covers the entire "The Highlanders" serial. **

Part One

_They say, They don't trust, You, me, we, us…_

At the beginning of his second regeneration his insight into of the nature of Verity, her telepathic abilities, had just begun, and he didn't quite trust her. His new, younger body had some quirks that he'd not quite worked out yet, the second heart, the respiratory bypass deal, the increased mental powers that were quite a bit sharper than before, rampant hormones, all that was new to him. He supposed that the solution might have been to accept the overturns of the ship and let her take care of his needs the way she wanted to. But he found himself resistant to the ship's desire to bond with him. As thus, he had little control over her, less control over himself, and in many ways he preferred it that way. It made it harder for his people to find him, after all, if he didn't even know where he was headed or what he might do next.

The TARDIS had taken them to Culloden Moor, 1746. His two companions, Ben and Polly, had trusted him as a crusty old gent, but rather rubbed his new personality the wrong way at times. This ended up being one of those times. The fact that they landed in the British Isles was enough to make Ben go charging off, heedless to the danger. It should have been a warning, those sounds of battle, but they hadn't kept Ben, or Polly, for that matter, from running right into the thick of things. Now this was a new thing for him, a sense of self-preservation that overrode curiosity. When the English nearly landed a ten-pounder on their heads, he was set to leave. But he couldn't leave two immature twits from 1966 in the middle of a battle in 1746, now could he? So grudgingly, he followed them.

The jury was still out as to if that had been a good thing or not, actually.

They'd gone over a rise and Ben spotted a cannon and suggested that the ten-pounder had come from there. The Doctor, being keen of eye if a little rumbled and shaggy headed, and told him, "It's unlikely," before explaining that the weapon was spiked, that the touch hole was closed off by the insertion of a metal file rendering the cannon useless. But what had caught the Time Lord's attention was a traditional 'bluebonnet' tam o' shanter sitting atop the barrel. "I would like a hat like this," he had been rather a flighty gent in those days but for the most part it had been an act, as he heard the approaching Scots. In this case he put the bonnet on and posed for Ben and Polly with appropriate cheer, "How do I look?"

His female companion, blonde she might have been, was the smart one of the pair, snatching the hat off his head and inspecting it, "It's got words on it – 'With Charles our brave and merciful Prince Royal, we'll greatly fall or nobly save our country.'"

Now he knew that this could be a later recreation or the real deal. The only way to find out for sure was to provoke those 'sneaking' up on them. He grabbed the hat back from Polly, "Bah! Romantic piffle!" and proceeded to throw it to the ground. Seconds later there's a real, sharp, solid, claymore being held across his throat by a swordsman that knows exactly how to use it. No recreation was this. They were in the middle of a real war, with real life or death stakes. And one would think that at a time like this he'd be focused on important things, like survival.

Only his body is not being cooperative on that matter, because of one very striking young man. The lad catches his attention. It's not his red tartan kilt, leather jerkin, traditional Highlander garb of this era. It's not that he's holding a dirk on Ben. Really it's not even his thick reddish brown wavy hair peaking out from his tam o' shanter, pale blue-green eyes, and piper's hands. But there's something about the lad that takes his breath away and makes his mind refuse to focus on anything else. He's ordered to retrieve the tam o' shanter from where he tossed it by the voice near his ear as the sharp metal moves for him to comply.

"You'll pick it up!"

The piper adds, "Ah, careful, like." _Oh, well, the boy wants him to pick the hat up. And really, yes… he wants to do that for him. Oh… this is not good._ Nearly every internal impulse is at odds with his cultural training. He's been trying so hard to be – what? Proper Time Lord aloof? Staunch in the face of spending his youth, currently reclaimed with this new body, in a state of denial over its physical needs? Were he back home what would be done about it? Would he be found ill? Suffering from hormonal imbalance? Insane? What would the Highlander behind him do if he noticed the odd twin pulse? His attention is drawn to the heartsbeat pounding in his ears like he's been running. Only the blood flowing through him is not doing so for that reason. He can't understand his reaction to the boy. The lad is watching him closely, his eyes burning a hole in his soul. The little alien Doctor fixes his dark eyes on the piper and does not look away, even as he bends down and retrieves the bonnet from the ground. His body's stirring at the lad's merest glance completely mystifies and totally thrills him.

No sooner that he straightens then does the other man point toward the cottage with his heavy blade, making it look like he's holding a ruler for the weight of it, "This way with you. Quick!" The small one room dwelling sets at the base of the rise and soon they are being ushered through the door. "Kirsty! Get away with you," orders the young man with the claymore.

A voice from the bed says, "Who are they?"

"I know not. They're no Scot. They threw down the Prince's cockade."

The words confuse Polly and Ben, 'modern day' humans that they were from 1966, who thought that History was not nearly as important as the tunes on the radio. But the Doctor pegs the time and place down with those words, "Prince Charles Edward. Bonnie Prince Charlie." And he can't hide his joy at figuring this out.

"You have the tongue. Aye, I thought so. English the three of them. Camp followers to the Duke of Cumberland. Come to steal from the dead." Accuses the one with the heavy blade. Taking his cue, the piper lad stepped up to the Doctor, raising his blade to the Time Lord's throat, his face twisted in an ugly grimace. And for once the Doctor finds himself too caught up in the boy's heat from his closeness, the scent of leather, wool, musk, sweat, and old blood coming off the human to pay much attention to the blade at his throat. But for a touch, he's lost to the reality of the moment as his senses try to cope with this new internal reaction that he's never encountered before outside of his own kind. It's like the lad has a touch of mental power, untapped, that is electrifying not only his own mental reactions but his physical ones too. But that is impossible, isn't it?

From the bed comes, "Abide a moment! Do you wish to pray before you die?"

This shocks him out of his internal dissertation about how he can't be reacting this way, "Die!" His companions are flustered a bit, too. But this was why he wanted to leave again straight away.

"Die for what?" Asks Polly.

Ben's more outraged, "Well, you can't kill us in cold blood!"

The piper snarls, "Well, our bloods warm enough! Your English troopers gave no quarter to men, women and bairns." He does not notice how the dark haired rumpled man flinches at his words with a look on his face of horror.

"Doctor, tell them who we are," pleads the blonde woman traveling with him.

The Scotswoman, Kirsty, takes note, "Doctor?" She grabs her brother's arm only to be pushed away. There's a bit of an argument, with the dark headed lass insisting that they need a doctor and that if it comes to it they can kill the English captives after.

During the scuffle Ben notes a pistol on the bed, leaps forward snatches it up, and aims it at the two Scots. "Right, back both of you! Or your Laird won't need a doctor."

"Well done, Ben. And now gentlemen... Your swords, I think. Ben, cock the pistol!" The woman pleas with the men to do as he asks, and he orders, "Polly, take the swords." The highlanders really are reasonable people for the most part and these two do turn their weapons over to the girl, "That's the style. Now back against the wall, both of you. Go on! That's better." Much better. He can think with the boy away from him. His first concern is the wounded man on the bed, who to him looks oddly familiar, like he's seen him in history books. "Now, I'm going to have a look at the wound. Come along, come along." The man doesn't fight him, "Let me see. Yes. We're going to need some clean water to bathe the wound." Making that determination the Time Lord places his hand over the pulse point to slow the blood loss, After a moment he finds himself doing something that is equally baffling; he pushes enough of his life into the man to stabilize him so that the blood loss doesn't kill him. Why did he do such a risky, tampering, thing? His people will be able to tell he's been here now. He ponders this for a moment, "Ah." The man on the bed is important to the piper, the lad is loyal to him, and thus he's giving the man a chance to live to make the boy happy. He wants to stomp his feet and pitch a fit.

He looks up at the unmoving Kirsty, "I'll not leave him."

"We're not going to harm him. Polly!" he orders. She responds with a nod. "You go with her." He hands her a leather pail, "Off you go then."

She doesn't want to go, but agrees to anyhow. Turning to Kirsty she asks, "Will you show me where the stream is?" After getting the Laird's spyglass the two women head off to fetch water.

Now that he's had a chance to calm the Scottish lads down as bit, he decides that the pistol is no longer necessary, "You can put it away now, Ben."

"Put it away? But..." this confuses the sailor.

The Time Lord looks from him to the two Highlanders, catching the piper's eyes again. He can't but help to notice the features of the lad, and his own reactions to them. Once again, it's something he's not used to and has no idea what it might mean. "Will you both give us your word that you'll not molest us? We're only trying to save your Laird from bleeding to death."

The clansmen look at each other and the traces of blood on the Doctor's fingers where he's tried to staunch the blood flowing from the wound. "Aye," says the one.

"You have our word," adds the piper.

The Doctor nods to them, "Put it away, Ben."

"What, are you going to trust these blokes?"

He rounds on the sailor, angrier than he maybe ought to be, "A Highlanders word is his bond!" Then he notices where the pistol is pointing, and getting shot so soon after acquiring this body does not appeal, "At least don't point it at me!" This is where things start to really go badly, he remembers. Ben _tossed_ the gun, which hit the table and fired as such pistols were wont to do when cocked and loaded. Both Highlanders turn on the sailor shouting his foolishness, and he of course has no idea why, having spent his youth letting his brain melt. Even he is moved to admonish the boy for not knowing his history.

Something draws the younger of the two in kilts to the window, "Redcoats! There's about six of them."

"They'll slaughter us!" says the other.

Watching the Redcoats and the mounted commanding officer who are looking toward the cottage having heard the gunshot, the piper says, "We'll be caught like rats in a trap. Can we not run for it?"

"And leave the Laird to their mercy? There is but one chance. It is but a very slim one. I will try and draw them away from this cottage."

"Wait! Wait!" The Time Lord tries to stop the older of the Highlanders but the man snags his claymore and slips out of the cottage. He cries his battle cry and charges the English, lasting but a moment in the face of their rifles.

Moments later the Redcoats burst into the cottage. "Surrender in the King's name!"

And there's no way to bluff around it either, although he does try. Adopting a thick German accent the Doctor steps in to bluff their way out of this, if possible, "I'm glad you've come, Sergeant. I was waiting for an escort."

"Who the devil..."

The Time Lord cuts him off, "Civil tongue, Sergeant! You are in charge of these men?"

At this the Lieutenant charges in, "No! I am."

"A gentleman, at last. Doctor von Wer, at your service," the Doctor says.

The sergeant makes him wonder how much gray matter the English of this day and age possess, "Doctor who?"

Muttering and ignored he answers, "That's what I said."

Then the higher ranking dandy makes him think that perhaps the situation is even worse, that the English no brains left at all, "One of those confounded froggies that came over with the Pretender."

There's no way to mistake his accent for French. And Ben's not a Scot, "We ain't French. Are we?"

"German, from Hanover. Where your good King George comes from. And I speak English a good deal better than he does." And that last bit should've stayed in his mouth, but blast it the piper lad is standing right next to him and he's having a hard time thinking again.

"Hear that, sir. Treason! Shall we hang them now?" asks the sergeant with more enthusiasm than necessary.

"Wait a moment. Who is that?" the Lieutenant points at the bed and the man on it.

The piper says, "Colin McLaren, the Laird, and I'm his piper." If, blast it all, that the boy isn't lying, he'd eat his tie. But the lad looks at him with an expression to keep quiet, and he does, because the boy wants him to. Not good.

"Ah, they're a poor lot, sir. We'll get no pickings here. Let's hang them and have done."

"Well a right shower you are! What have we done? Nothing! And what have you got against these two? They lost a battle, right? Well, doesn't that make them prisoners of war?" Ben protests.

The dandy gives them a 'down the nose' look, "Rebels are not treated as prisoners of war. Right, Sergeant, prepare to hang them."

The sergeant motions to the Doctor, "Sir! Take him out."

As he's grabbed he says, "Didn't I tell you I was..."

He's cut off, "And you," he indicates Ben.

"But we haven't done anything!"

He's ignored too, "And you."

The piper protests, "But he can't walk!"

"Drag him!" orders the Englishman.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Things look really rather grim. The English are preparing nooses. The wounded is looking more than a bit bloodless. Suddenly a rock hit the ground nearby. Ends up that the girls had a plan that would pay huge dividends in the end. The dandy ended taking two men off after them. They still looked to hang however. It was an unexpected occurrence of the arrival of a man named Grey that saved them. For prison and a 'sea voyage' that more than likely was intended as slave trade. Oh, yes… what a fine pickle to end up in.

Inverness was positively medieval. The lower cells sat well under the high tide mark, and as it is now the tide was starting to come in. They've just been placed in a cell, mossy green and rough walled. Ben's trying to get the two Scots to rest a bit, particularly the Laird who looks worse for wear from the march, "Look after him, mate. He'll be all right. Okay, mate, okay. Take it easy, take it easy. Sit down."

The Doctor pats the wooden bench in invitation and then sits on one side to show it won't collapse. "We don't know yet," Colin says as he takes a seat, his piper, Jamie stands on the other side of him, watching the strangers and trying not to become rosy-cheeked every time the scruffier one looked at him. The odd looking man had the most attractive gray-brown eyes that Jamie had ever set sight on, and an endearing quality that he found slowing chipping away at his resolve to not like the man.

"A right rat hole this is, isn't it?" the Englishman said.

Jamie glanced around at the slimy walls; the hints of seepage making them glisten. He takes a breath of the salty air, "Oh, King George has worse than this, never fear." He comes back to the odd fellow in the rumpled black coat and his strange collared shirt of pale blue and blinks when he realizes the man is staring at him. Intently.

The Doctor finds himself grateful for Ben's complete lack of paying attention to anything, "Yeah, well, I'm glad Polly's out of it. Why did we ever get mixed up in this, Doctor?"

He almost reminds the sailor that they ended up in this situation because of his foolishness twice over, first for him taking off to explore and second for setting off the gun by tossing it around. But – he holds his tongue and cocks his head at Jamie with a bit of a smirk; "I'm glad we did. I'm just beginning to enjoy myself." He then clears his throat, "Down with King George!"

The prison erupts in cheers, laugher, and assorted answering calls. The guard shouts, "Silence you Jacobite pigs. You don't want to feel this bayonet?"

Jamie can't tell if the man is having him on or serious, "Oh, enjoy yourselves. So you are for the Prince after all?"

The Time Lord looks at him, saddened. If the lad stays on here his life will be a very hard one, either way it goes, possibly a short one. He can see the eddies of time swirling around the boy, but has no idea what they are trying to tell him. Distracted he replies, "No, not really." Jamie's looking at him trying to understand how someone could be neutral in this conflict because to him it's unthinkable that they are on the side of King George. The Doctor smiles at him, childish glee showing through, "I just like hearing the echo, that's all. Let's have a look at his wound, shall we?" Colin is wearing a full plaid, and to see the wound in the sputtering torchlight the Doctor has to pull it aside.

Jamie is quite interested, "Would you not be 'letting him now?"

It's a struggle to not become distracted as the boy leans over his shoulder to watch him gently check the wound and clean it with the water in the cell. "With care that'll heal," he tells Colin. The Laird nods, thankful for the assurance. He's managed to get it to stop bleeding now, but a dressing would be a good thing. He plucks some moss off the wall and sniffs it. This will do. After gathering up a bunch he carefully begins packing the wound.

The piper watches every move, enthralled, "Och, here's you saying you're a doctor, you've not even bled him yet."

"What's he on about?" Ben asks.

"Bloodletting," the Doctor responds, moving over to snag the torch so he can heat a metal cup of water over it. He hands the torch to Ben.

"Yeah, but that's stupid."

Jamie finds himself carefully holding the cup over the top of the flame; "It's the only way of curing the sick."

"Killing him, more like. He's lost enough blood already."

To stave off the argument the Doctor produces a small telescope from a pocket and peers out at the night sky with it through the window, "Oh, Isis and Osiris, is it meet? Aquarius, Aries, Taurus..."

"Oh, aye," says the piper. Ben is lost and confused, but his question goes unanswered but for Jamie admonishing him to be quiet, "Whist, man."

"Gemini and Taurus," the Time Lord concludes, before turning Jamie, "When was the Laird born?"

"In the fifth month."

"That's what I thought. Now, blood letting must wait until Taurus is in the ascendant. So it is willed."

This makes Ben look at him cross-eyed, "You don't believe all that cods wallop, do you?"

The look on Jamie's face will break him yet, "Of course I do! So does he. He's never heard of germs."

And to prove the point Jamie gets a confused expression and asks, "What was that word?"

On impulse he reaches out and puts a hand on the lad's arm, and has to keep himself from going all weak in the knees. _Oh – oh my._ Jamie practically oozes psychic ability, completely untapped, totally raw. It washes over him like a wave of electricity, a lightening leader that he has to fight from discharging back at the boy. He squeezes slightly on the lad's biceps; "It's a secret word." He sounds slightly breathless. And really it's no wonder… he feels slightly warm in the cheeks and is grateful for the shadows he's in. He takes the warmed cup and winks at Ben.

"Yeah, germs, all around us," the sailor says. Jamie has no idea what germs are and looks about expecting to see something huge suddenly jumping out to attack them.

The Doctor has moved back to Colin and added some of the warm water to the packing, making the man hiss at the sting of the salt, "Used by German doctors."

"Oh, Ger-man. Germs," Jamie concludes.

"Yes. Have you got a handkerchief, Ben?" The man nods and passes a small pocket-handkerchief over. The Doctor looks at it, "Good."

Jamie spotted the cloth being passed, "Och, that wee lassie's 'kerchief? Here, Doctor, use mine." He reaches into his shirt and pulls a larger swath of linen that he presses into the Doctor's hand, as if he's seeking that contact again. The buzz of energy passes between them like a surge. He finds himself staring into those deep eyes and his heart thudding in his chest. The Scotsman takes a deep breath through his nose noticing the sweet scent, like summer honey, over the salty ocean damp.

The Doctor blinks, "Thank you. Just a fresh dressing." Jamie is sure he's blushing like a lass. He knows he's trembling as the odd little man turns away and dips the smaller of the two bits of cloth into the warm water. The doctor begins cleaning Colin, who has passed out, and searching for other wounds. "Hello, what's this?" he asks after a bit. Ben begins to help him get the plaid loosened and they work out a large, ornate, tasseled, embroidered silk standard.

"Prince Charlie's personal standard," Jamie hisses, moving to block the guard's view.

Ben looks confused; "Well what's he doing with it?"

"Protecting it! Now put it back will ye. If a sentry saw it--" Jamie half panics and reaches for it.

"No wait!" The Doctor stops him with a firm hand on his wrist. _Will you trust me, lad?_ Jamie stares at him, trying to wrap his brain around what he's experiencing. _Please?_ The piper nods slowly with a queer look on his face. The Time Lord then opens his coat, neatly folds the standard and wraps it around his body. After rebuttoning his coat again the floppy, wrinkled, thing looks much the same as before.

"What are you doing?" The piper says in low tones.

The Doctor looks at him, "What chance do you think he has of evading the gallows with it on him?"

"Well..."

Not thinking, the gesture of reassurance, a hand on the lad's shoulder, happens naturally, and the reconnection of the current flowing between them stops Jamie's words. He wonders where else that feeling might go and -- the little man is talking, "Besides, it's really rather nice and warm. Let's have a tune to cheer us all up." This is reasonable, Jamie thinks. He's a piper after all, even if he doesn't have a full set of bagpipes on him.

The Doctor has his recorder, Jamie his Practice Chanter, and even if Ben grouses about it they intend to play. "Yeah, I didn't think we'd heard the last of that," the sailor groans. The lively tune seems to lighten up the mood in the place, perking up prisoners across the floor. Jamie finds himself watching the Doctor, while the Doctor is watching him, and they are playing together this perfect tune. He almost smiles.

"Silence!" shouts the sentry.

Jamie stops and grips the Doctor pulling the recorder from his lips, "Whist, man!"

"Well, you're a loyal Jacobite, aren't you? This is your tune." _Trust me, lad. Please?_ Jamie deflates a bit, sets his jaw in determination, and nods. The Doctor calls, "Come on everybody, join in." Jamie picks up the notes again, weaving a melody that soon has everyone chanting along with it.

"Silence, I say! I warned you rebels once! Now we'll see what a touch of the bayonet will do," the man threatens. It's impossible that anyone heard him over the singing however, and it's only when the keys rattle in the lock over the staircase leading down does the Doctor signal Jamie to stop. The piper takes both instruments and hides them away. The guard targets the Doctor with his gun, because the little man steps up in front of him, "Now then! You!"

"Ah, thank heavens. Did you hear that tune?" the Doctor said in his heavy German accent, ignoring the guard's reply, "They were singing it to drive me m... out of my mind. As I'm a loyal subject to King George the Second!" He can feel Jamie begin to get antsy and pissed off, _Trust me boy, play along, I'll get you out of here_.

"Now what's that got to do with me?" the guard asks.

"They know of a plot to murder your general, the Duke of Cumberland."

This causes a rumble of discontent across the prison, led by Jamie, "What! I knew he was not one of us!"

"Take me to solicitor Grey. Perhaps we're in time to prevent it!"

The guard says, "Why didn't you speak about this before?"

"Well, it's only just discovered! That rogue is party to it!" The Doctor points at Jamie. The Scotsman, in a fury, flings himself at the Doctor intending to get his hands around his throat only to be stopped by the bayonet.

Ben sees the Time Lord wink as the guard hauls him out of the cell and slams the door shut, One they are gone he says, "Well done, mate."

"What do you mean? Why don't you go and join your friend?" Jamie says, still pissed off and rather willing to believe the mental plea he heard was his imagination.

Ben rolls his eyes, "Oh, calm down. Can't you see it was all a fiddle?" At the piper's confusion he continues, "Well, a trick. A ruse, to get out of here."

Jamie shakes his head; "I don't understand you."

"Oh, blimey, look. Outside he's got a chance to get away and rescue us. What chance do you think he's got paddling around in here?"

"Aye, nevertheless, I'm still worried."

Ben glances up, "Now don't you worry about him, mate. Worry about us. See that line?" he points up at the dark line marking the cell all around the walls, "Well that's where the water level comes up to, and tonight is not my bath night."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The dark haired rumpled man managed to get free, after giving up the personal standard (which came in handy for tying up Grey), his clothes (traded for skirts, and he really hoped Ben never found out about that), and the three men left behind in the prison (they ended up on a boat in the harbor). In the process he gained a very nice, but unloaded pistol, a very suitable disguise, and found Kirsty and Polly.

He knows the ship that the men are on is being used for something 'out of history', he can sense that this is what he's meant to put back on track. Now to just figure out how. He's got people on board, Ben, Jamie and Colin. And Colin's daughter is here. Surely that will be useful. He was now in a barn with the two women trying to come up with a plan.

Oh but – there's a good one. How to manage it? He lies back in the hay, the events of however long it's been since he's slept last catching up with him. Oh bother, this stupid, young, body. He never needed this much sleep before. He can barely keep his eyes open some days. His still in the skirts, Polly is trying to keep him awake. "Doctor, don't go all sleepy on us, now. We've got to do something."

He agrees, but not right at this instant, "All right, go ahead."

"If only we knew where the others were," Polly says.

He's half asleep now; "They're on the ship."

"What?"

"They're on the ship, the Annabelle. Master's name, Trask. Not a nice man, you wouldn't like him."

Polly has the nerve to call him back out of his sleep, "Doctor! Doctor!" When that doesn't work she digs him in the ribs to wake him, "Look, if they're on the ship, then we've got to get them off it. Or..." he mumbles something vague that she takes as a 'continue'. "Or capture the ship." He listens to the women talk about the merits of the idea, what they could do if they captured the ship, and speaks up only to convince Kirsty that leaving Scotland for a few years is the logical thing to do. After a few moments of argument she agrees and asks what they can do to capture the ship then. And once again Polly digs him in the ribs to wake him, "We must make a plan. Doctor. Doctor! Have you got a plan for us?"

"No." He closes his eyes. But he does want to see that Jamie lad again, doesn't he?

Polly snorts, "Oh, go on, I know you better than that, you must have a plan."

"Well, it's just a wee idea really." He stretches to wake himself a bit. She encourages him to talk. So he does, "I've only just thought about it. It won't work, but it'd be a try. Anyone got any money?" He finds that yes, indeed they do. Seventeen guineas in fact. "That's a fortune in these days. Now, we want weapons - lots of them, and a rowing boat," he tells them.

"Well, I can get a rowing boat," says Kirsty.

"Good, and we can buy the weapons," Polly questions that and he tells her where, "From the English soldiers. Well, they're bound to have heaps of weapons as souvenirs, and they'd sell their Grandmothers for tuppence half penny." Kirsty then asks what the next step would be; "We smuggle them aboard the Annabelle." And now he's really all out… He cannot stay awake a moment longer. He's not even sure of the question Polly asks him next or what his answer is. He just needs to sleep. And sleep would be so much nicer with Jamie next to him…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day they set to work on the plan. The two girls end up back at the barn before the Doctor does, bemoaning their luck. The Doctor shows up shortly, a handbarrow that ends up filled with weapons. Polly rewards him with a hug and says, "You're fantastic." This he knows, but it brings a smile to his face none the less. Then he spots Kirsty's ring. And the last of the plan clicks into place. He asks to see it only for the blonde to say, "Oh that. It's her father's. She won't let you touch it."

But he's already got Kristy's hand and is looking at the ring, "I'm not surprised. It's not her fathers."

"You lie! It is!"

"Then why has it the Stuarts' seal?" he asks her.

"My father bade me not tell where he got it."

He looks her in the eye, "Until the right time. That time has now arrived."

She looks thoughtful, then shrugs, "The Prince gave it to my father off his own hand in heat of battle. My father saved the Prince's life."

"Then it is right and proper that it should now save his life. Give it me." Unlike with Polly, Kirsty only hesitates before giving it to him, "Thank you. I wonder. Bait." She asks what for. He tells her, "Bait for a very greedy man."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next task ended up being interrupted by rescuing Ben who managed to get off the Annabelle by slipping his ropes. The lad is really quite lucky that the Doctor is there to keep the jetty clear. He finishes loading up the rowboat and takes Ben back to the barn where he's fed and allowed to dry off. The Doctor switches back to his normal clothes, endures the teasing from the women. They go over the plan and make some last minute changes. The women will smuggle the weapons onto the ship, while he and Ben distract the others.

The plan, for once, went without a hitch. The Highlanders got weapons, the rightful captain got his ship back, and the Doctor rescued his companions while setting time back on it's rightful course. He hated using Jamie as the bait, but saying he had 'soft hands and face' and how striking his hair was came from the heart, and so did the excitement of it. Of course, he was able to go down into the hold and see the lad again, even though he risked being in the middle of the battle to do so.

After the battle they end up taking Grey with them ashore. The Doctor is sure that he'll never see Jamie again. The set back for the Quay and watch the ship signal through the fog. Polly says, "We never even said goodbye to Jamie."

Ben agrees, "No, he just disappeared. I wonder where he went to."

"Right here." Ben and Polly both exclaim happiness to see him. Jamie says casually, "Aye, himself." His eyes are on the Doctor, who he had been ever so happy to see.

"Well, why didn't you go with the others?" Ben asks.

Jamie feels his cheeks go rosy, "Well, let's say I fancied my chances here better. Besides, you'll need someone to guide you through the glens, won't you?"

The Doctor finally says, "Glad to have you with us, Jamie." And he knows the lad intends to leave with them, come hell or high water. And besides the boy has his recorder still. Although they lose Grey they end up with another escort, one more willing to assist, one that reaps a benefit from it in the end. The Doctor is more than willing to take the young piper with him, for a chance to learn how to 'play the pipes'.

And Jamie knows that he means more than just the bagpipes. Somehow he thinks he might just be willing to give the strange Doctor any lesson he might want.


	2. So we’ll fall, If we must

A/N: _This is a detailed side story for my Doctor Who AU 'Verse. It's 'All About' Jamie and the Doctor. How they met, what adventures they had, and finally why they were parted. It's a prequel to __**Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse **__even though I'm writing it now, and mean it to be read in conjunction with __**Doctor Who and the Tangled Web**__. This is meant for those folks with no exposure to the second Doctor. This chapter covers the serial "The Underwater Menace". Scenes that don't have either the Doctor or Jamie directly involved will not be included. Transcripts of the episodes are used as reference for dialogue, along with photonovels where the BBC has lost / destroyed them. Inspiration and Titles come from the T.a.t.u song "All About Us" that was used for the video featuring this ship. See __**TARDIS Parking**__ for the links to both Transcripts and video.  
OtherMeWriter, thanks for the review._

Part Two

_So we'll fall, If we must, 'Cause it's you, me…_

It was an interesting thing, walking into the TARDIS the first time. The Doctor never got tired of the amazed reactions he got from his companions when they entered his ship. Well, not this regeneration anyhow. And not this particular companion. He'd agreed to bring the Scottish piper, Jamie McCrimmon along with them at the request of Ben and Polly if the lad taught him the pipes. Moments before they stepped through the doorway he'd made a hasty decision and erected a shield around Jamie's mind to block the TARDIS from him. No one needs know that he's done it. Not a soul. Maybe someday he'll tell Jamie, but for now keeping him safe from the threats the psychic power might draw to him is far more important then worrying about how the lad feels about tampering with an ability he's not even aware of.

The small dark haired, twin hearted alien is set to watch the soft-faced lad as he enters and looks around. If the reddish brown haired lad is shocked by the size difference it doesn't show. Unlike others he scarcely pauses on the threshold before striding into the room, showing no signs of needing back out to look at the outside of the ship. He seems unafraid. Curious, yes, but not in the least scared. The Doctor watches him in delight. Jamie walks around the room, then stops in front of the central control bank. "What's this?" he asks as his light greenish blue eyes watch the central column rise and fall.

He grins at the lad's reactions, thrilled at how readily he's accepted this. Then again, the lad's accepted his mental touch with scarcely a blink and seems to find the exchange of mental energy between them to be rather acceptable too. He wonders how far that can go for a moment before pushing it aside. "You'll find out," the Time Lord tells him as he fiddles with the controls, once again fighting with the ship over where to go, and resisting her press to complete the imprinting process that will bind them together. He nearly misses the conversation between the companions as Ben and Polly explains that the ship travels in time as well as space because of his focus on resisting the TARDIS.

Jamie says, "Och, now, I don't believe it."

He quotes, "_Nae man can tether time nor tide _- Robert Burns."

"Hey? Who's Robert Burns?" the lad asks.

"Oh, I should have remembered. To you, its 1746. Robert Burns wasn't born until 1759." Jamie seems to deal with this rather well, and the Doctor knows he's smart enough to get that someone's been quoted that hasn't been born yet in his time. Maybe though he's letting the 'impossible' roll off him like rain on oilskin at the moment. Instead he wants to know what the ship is doing. "We're just beginning to land. Hold tight, everyone."

"Land?"

"Don't be scared, Jamie, it's alright, really," Polly tells him.

"I get a sort of queer feeling. See, we never know what we're going to find, do we?" Ben quips.

Gleefully the Time Lord says, "Ah! That's the fun. Stand by, here we go."

Jamie wonders what he's stepped into as the TARDIS comes to a stop, then realizes that maybe this won't be so bad. He reaches over and puts a hand on the Time Lord's arm establishing the tingling sensation for a moment, "That wasn't too bad. Lets go outside, Doctor." He catches the man's gray brown eyes and watches them twinkle for a moment. _Prove to me that I'm not on the Moors anymore, huh_? No matter what they find, the strange little man is more than able to deal with it, the Scottish piper figures.

The Doctor swallows. Jamie's figured out the thought speech works both ways already. And he didn't even have to teach him how. He catches the lad's hand. _All right, I promise you that we're not on the Moors, my boy_. Jamie sucks in his lower lip and flicks his eyes away before looking back and blushing faintly. _No, Jamie. Not in here_. He lets go of the hand.

Ben is roaring to go, "Yeah, Come on, Jamie, you and me first. You never know, you know." Jamie gives him a confused look. Ben explains, "We don't know what could be waiting for us out there, do we? Come on, Doctor, open up."

He consults the scanners, "Yes, I don't see why not. It looks alright to me," the Doctor said. He opens the doors then exclaims, "Wait!" This causes Ben, Polly, and Jamie to freeze, " -- For me," he laughs. Once out on the black sand beach they go through the normal guessing game of 'where-n-when' and quickly decide that they need to explore some more to determine it. What he does know is that they are not in Britain. Then he points out the volcano and the three companions go wandering off. Really he wished that Jamie had stayed. But it seems decent enough a place, no large animals or signs of danger so he figures it's alright for them to explore a bit. And this is new to Jamie, so he might as well have his curiosity stoked. In the meantime he explores the beach, finding interesting things that don't quite fit, "Mediterranean. Ooo, no, tidal sea. Funny, hasn't been fired long," he mumbles as he looks at a shard of pottery. Next thing he knows he's being jumped, bound, and hauled away up the mountainside, having not seen his assailants. He wonders if his companions are all OK as he's dragged into a cave then thrown into a cage. He lands on something firm and warm that sends a pleasant buzz through him.

"That's all we needed," Ben says.

"So they caught you too," inquires Jamie. He looks up at the lad, noticing that he's more or less slung across him, in his lap, his hands against the bare flesh of his legs. The intense tingle of the contact rather takes his breath away. He turns his head and forces his face away from Ben and Polly's line of sight. Jamie shifts to regain his eye contact. The Doctor knows his cheeks are flushed, rather brightly. The piper openly flirts with him shifting so his hands are touching up in his thigh above his knee. _Oh…_ He closes his eyes and lets the sensations Jamie's feeling from the energy flow wash over him._ Oh, this is just… too much._ He lets the throbbing he's feeling build for a moment more and then lifts, with difficulty, his fingers off the boy's skin.

_Bloody Tease_. Jamie thinks to him.

_I've no idea what you're implying_.

_Oh, yes you do. But I suppose you have your reasons, we're not exactly alone here_.

He's still having trouble breathing. Or maybe it's the descent of the cage they are in. He gets the flush under control and looks back at the piper. Jamie smiles at him and winks. Suddenly he remembers that he's just assumed Polly was there. He wonders if she is.

Ben complains about the rapid air movement and then Polly wonders, "Where are we going?"

"That, we shall find out very soon," he sits up a bit, or tries to, being that he's tied. But to do so, means touching Jamie again, skin to skin. This makes the lad shutter, and the Doctor sees fireworks behind his eyelids for the few moments that he's firmly applying his weight to the lad's leg. Jamie twists to his side, dumping the Time Lord's hands against the bars of the floor. After a breathless moment of recovery he replies to Polly's comment that they've gone a very long way down and they are still going, "Yes, we must be below sea level already."

Jamie sits up and leans against his back. "It's difficult to breathe," Jamie wheezes near his ear. The hot puffs of air makes the Doctor tremble.

"This cage. I don't feel very well." Polly adds.

He is, oddly, unaffected by the descent alone. His breathlessness is caused by the lad against his back. Now he remembers how much trouble he had breathing before -- Oh that's right, he's got better lungs now that he's regenerated than the humans do, he needs less oxygen, and his blood does not adsorb gas it can't use. Then there's a sudden shift in the pressure, "Don't be frightened anybody. If we pass out it's compressed nitrogen. It's called caissons disease." Ben asks Polly to try to slip her ties, which she does and then she manages to get Jamie undone, who gets the Doctor untied while she is freeing Ben. One by one the humans pass out. The Doctor takes several deep breaths of the air, then turns to Jamie, makes sure his mouth is open, and carefully places his own mouth over the lad's. He uses his own lungs to stabilize and maintain the boy's blood and dissolved gas into a ratio that won't kill him. Why was he so moved to do this with Jamie? … well it scarcely bore thinking on, really.

"Come on lad," he whispers, as he caresses the piper's arm and repeats the process. The elevator stops. He sighs as the decompression chamber they've ended up begins working. He lays back and closes his eyes. "Oh," he moans. Did that just qualify as a kiss? Surely not. But then, why does he want to do it again. He catches Jamie's wrist and feels his pulse through the jolt of the energy that he's coming to think of as natural. He does not want to think about what prompted him to act in such a way.

Shortly thereafter Ben woke up, "What's this? Polly? Jamie?" Jamie clutches the Doctor's arm before he can pull his hand away and moans, part of his mind wondering about the faint taste of honey on his lips. Ben pushes his shoulder, "Come on man, rise and shine."

"You disturb the dead," Jamie complains. He'd been having the most pleasant dream of clover and honey and summer storms across the moors, and lips on his own that seemed to be giving him breath instead of taking it away…

"Oh you're not dead, you just got a touch of the submariners', that's all." Ben then looks around, ignoring Jamie's questions, "This must be some sort of compression chamber."

The Time Lord gets his arm back finally and begins consulting his notebook/diary to see if he's encountered this before, or anything similar. But it is Polly that produces evidence of the date, sometime after 1968, when she shows them a dated piece of pottery. Jamie hasn't quite got the 'travels in time' bit down yet in spite the evidence in front of him. One thing it confirms is that they are on Earth, at least.

Then they notice the waiting guards. They try a number of languages to communicate, but in the end are ordered through motion to proceed from the room. The first location they are taken to provides the Doctor with some astonishing clues… It's a dining hall, and there's a feast of dishes made of plankton. He knows that they are likely dealing with a possibly unstable scientist, genius, but perhaps stark raving mad. Although it's often said that the line between precocity and insanity is a razor thin one. What he uncovers is that there's more than one insane loon about. The head of the priests is against the scientist who has the backing of the political figures that matter. To top it off, the priesthood thinks they are there to be sacrificed to Amdo, their goddess, during their festival of the vernal equinox. Who is Amdo? He's never heard of her. Ah well. He knows who has provided the food, and that's going to have to be enough. He does manage to get a message promising a great secret to Professor Zaroff, the scientist responsible for food supplies here.

They are taken to the temple and set to be sacrificed, and the entire while he feels that Jamie has total faith in his ability to get them out of this. He's personally not so sure. All he can hope for is that the fellow he knew of would be interested in a secret promised. And with luck, it is his note to Zaroff that saves them in the nick of time. He uses this to get his friends out of becoming shark food and ends up separated from them as the Professor takes him back to his lab because he's amused by the Doctor's antics. The others he learns are sent off to the mines and or to be converted into farming slaves with fake gills.

He's able to not only discover where the TARDIS has landed them, being Atlantis much to his amazement, but what the exact insane plot being pushed is. He also learns that there are enough individuals who wish to sabotage Zaroff that he has plenty of helpers. One, Ara, he sends off to rescue Polly before she becomes converted into a water breather, after he bumps into the controls for the electric output to disrupt the operation. Then he finds that Zaroff considers him a pet of sorts… Drat. But the advantage is that he finds out Zaroff plans to drain the ocean into the core of the planet, in an effort to 'raise' the lost kingdom. And he wonders if his TARDIS brought him here on purpose, because he knows the earth didn't explode in 1968 or 1970, so something must stop this plot. Now he just needs to figure out how.

The first bit of information that he gathers is that the farmers are slave labor, and converted human shipwreck survivors. They grow cheap plentiful food from the sea. But why do are they worked so? He escapes in an attempt to speak with the political leader, and ends up making another ally in the process. Then he learns that Zaroff's food process produces supplies that cannot be stored, meaning that the mealtimes are set and last just twenty minutes. In fact, there's a constant stream of food coming in, going bad, and being discarded. His speech to the leader about the impending 'raising' doesn't go over well and he finds himself back in the scientist's clutches. Little else has changed. Well, except for the fact that he's no longer Zaroff's pet. Instead he's to be sacrificed after all.

But then… He really needs to tell Polly that she's fantastic one of these days. She engineers his rescue. They have a joyful reunion, and he's most happy to see Jamie again. Quite frankly, Jamie seems rather happy to see him again too. He pats the lad on the shoulder giving in to his urge to establish the flow of energy again with the boy. This seems to settle him, and he smiles. They rest for a bit in a hidden chamber behind the idol to confer with the priest and two escaped miners.

"The point is, where do we go from here?" Polly asks.

"Aye, tell us, Doctor," Jamie bids him.

He looks at them and the others besides, "Our course is plain. We must attack Zaroff. He has gone mad. He's bent on destroying the whole world. We've only a short while in which to stop it." He reveals that the food supplies, while plentiful, cannot be stored, and thus every meal is fresh and there are no leftovers. Getting the converted farmer-slaves to stop working is given to the pair that Jamie and Ben escaped the mines with.

Then the Doctor sets up the rest of them to kidnap the Professor in an effort to stop him. This plan proceeds and is successful, sort of. Well… They discover that the impending explosion is closer to happening than they thought. Ben, Jamie and the Doctor set off back to the lab just to make sure that the threat of the explosion occurring even if Zaroff is not there is a real one. After nearly getting lost the Doctor reluctantly sends Jamie back to Polly, but before he can get far the priest stumbles into the tunnel, wounded. In the confusion, the Professor gets away. Jamie ends up with Polly with Ara, Ben and the Doctor end up rescuing the head of the underwater kingdom before returning to their safe spot. The wounded are left there.

A new plan is devised, although Jamie and Polly are not there to hear it. The last act of desperation is his plan to flood the air dome. He does not know if the boy can swim, and that bothers him almost as much as the destruction and death that he's about to engineer. He hates to do it, but it's that or the world. So they set back out, some to warn the locals, and he and Ben to mess up plans. They head to the generating station, where he starts doing some random destruction. Then they turn on the sea wall. He hopes to Time herself that Jamie and Polly realize what is going on and flee.

"No one, I repeat, no one will leave his place. Everything goes according to schedule, except that the time of the big detonation has been advanced. The whole project will be activated from this control point. That is all until zero minus five," Zaroff orders in his desperation. Not that it matters. The Doctor convinces all his help and guards that this is the end and they run off. It's the high priest who in the end stops the button from being pushed as the ocean forces first Ben then the Time Lord to escape the lab.

He wants to go back and save Zaroff, who is, in his opinion, the greatest scientific mind since Leonardo Di Vinci. Ben doesn't let him. The delay means that they must run and climb all the faster to the surface. It's a race against the floodwaters on their tail. All along the shore survivors are emerging from fissures in the rock as they do. Ben finally asks the question that he's been avoiding, "Doctor, what about Polly?"

The Doctor listens, puts a finger on his lips and points. He and Ben set off that way.

Polly and Jamie hear the echo. "It can be anyone," she says sadly.

But Jamie feels the little Doctor fellow becoming closer, "Wait."

"Boo!"

Jamie turns and sees him, "You?!" He almost hugs the odd little man. Instead he manages to contain himself with a hearty clap on his shoulder. Something snaps back into a comfortable distance where it had been strained before.

He's answered with a broad grin, "Me?"

The Piper has never been so happy to see the Doctor as he is at this moment, "We thought you were dead."

"What?" He looks insulted. "Polly, good to see. Come on, you two," the Doctor slings an arm around each of them and steers them toward the TARDIS, Ben trailing behind.

He does double-check his mental shield around Jamie before opening the door, but quite frankly he wants away from here. He ushers them inside, "Right. Off we go, go -- into the wide blue yonder, as someone was once heard to remark."

"Hoo-ray," cheers Polly.

Ben nods, "Yeah, I'm not sorry to be out of that place. Poo, Jamie you don't half stink of fish!"

The Scotsman looks at Ben from where he's taken up post to watch what the Doctor is doing, "Oh, you want to take a wee sniff of yourself, Benjamin." He grins over at the Doctor; "He's not exactly a bonnie bunch of heather." This makes the sailor laugh.

Looking over at him, the Time Lord can feel the radiant joy off Jamie. It's humbling, "You sound very happy, Jamie."

"Oh aye, Doctor, I am now. You know I never thought I'd say this, but well it's great," Jamie can feel the warmth of the TARDIS at their safe return, enveloping him in a glow of affection. He's not sure why he feels this way, but it hardly matters. He wonders if the Doctor feels it, and figures that he must.

"What is?" Polly asks.

Jamie ponders that she doesn't feel it, "All this." He gestures around the room. "I'll never know what makes it go, mind you, but, well at least I feel safe in here." The lad catches the Doctor's eye; "It's only the wee things outside that are, well, alarming." The Doctor picks up his acceptance of the ship's overturns. He frowns and turns her down again when she suggests that they complete the imprinting and bonding process. Jamie gives him a look and the thought, _Why are you fighting it, don't you trust her? She is your ship after all_.

He frowns, _I'll – think about that, lad_. Jamie makes a slight nod. "You've got a point there," he says out loud.

"Yeah, you can say that again," Ben agrees.

Jamie tries to give the Doctor just a bit more to think on, "It's a fact, though, Doctor? You can't exactly control the TARDIS?"

"Control it? Course I can control it." He tries the hurt expression. It doesn't work.

Jamie's taken her side of the conflict, "No, no what I meant was, can you not exactly make it go where you mean it to?" _And is it possible that if you gave into what she wants you might be able to_?

_Hush, boy. You don't know what it is demanding of me_.

_Demanding? Nay, she loves you, you stubborn old man_.

_Impossible_.

_Then prove it. Control her, make her go where you want to go_.

_Oh I could_. He thinks before switching to speech, "If I wanted to. It's just that I've never wanted to." The Doctor fixes Jamie with a grumpy frown. Ben and Polly both take up taunting him. "Right! Just for that, I'll show you. Now, where shall we go? I know, let's go to Mars." He begins wrestling with the TARDIS for control, finally overriding her goals and forcing a time and place into the console. Narrowing his eyes he toggles a switch and plays with the various controls, serious about going where he wants to go, if only to impress Jamie…

The TARDIS, however, laughs at him in his mind, fudges the coordinates, and makes some creative interpretations of the input data. She lurches. Scolding him for his headstrong insistence on not bonding with her, she forces them into where she can see they need to go. Polly screams, "Doctor, what's happening?"

"Can't you do something?" asks Ben.

Jamie's on the floor, listening to the ship scold the Doctor in his head, wondering why she's not speaking to him too, even though he can feel her, and he's laughing. The entire thing is just too funny. Fortunately he's being ignored.

"Do something?" The Doctor rounds on Ben and Polly, "I seem to _have_ done something." The ship flings them about, pressing its need to bond at him again. The Time Lord throws up his mental shields against her and yells at his companions, "It's all your fault, wanting me to tamper with the steering." She jerks and rolls, angered at his locking her out of his mind so strongly, "I'm very sorry, everybody, but I'm afraid the TARDIS is out of control!" Verity shakes and lurches again, trying to knock him to the floor so she can get back into his head. The human female screams as she's pitched to the ground. Damn stubborn Time Lord!


	3. And it's all about, It's all about…

A/N: _This is a detailed side story for my Doctor Who AU 'Verse. It's 'All About' Jamie and the Doctor. How they met, what adventures they had, and finally why they were parted. It's a prequel to __**Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse **__even though I'm writing it now, and mean it to be read in conjunction with __**Doctor Who and the Tangled Web**__. This is meant for those folks with no exposure to the second Doctor. This chapter covers the serial "The Moonbase". Scenes that don't have either the Doctor or Jamie directly involved will not be included. Transcripts of the episodes are used as reference for dialogue, along with photonovels where the BBC has lost / destroyed them. Inspiration and Titles come from the T.a.t.u song "All About Us" that was used for the video featuring this ship. See __**TARDIS Parking**__ for the links to both Transcripts and video.  
OtherMeWriter, Kyer, __thanks for the reviews. I went and looked at the images of the second doctor again and am changing the eye color from 'gold-brown' to 'gray-brown'. of all the color pictures I've found only one shows him with 'blue' eyes. All the others his eyes look light brownish.  
_

Part Three

_And it's all about, It's all about…_

Verity was angered. The Time Lord who had rescued her from a certain doom was the most stubborn, bullheaded, arrogant, and unfortunately, mentally powerful Gallifreyan she had ever met. Not that she had meet many, but when he wanted her out of his mind there was no forcing him back open. She supposed that she pushed too hard. She flickered the lights at him in anger, tossed him about, threw a hissy fit until she was tired of doing so and then stubbornly materialized them on the moon in 2070 just like she was going to in the first place. _So – there_. "Everything back under control again," the Doctor contended. She snarled at his mental walls. Damn him.

Jamie stood up and rubbed his head where he's bumped it, "Oh, thank the lord for that. You know, Doctor, I'll never ask you to do that again." The Scotsman can hear the TARDIS grumbling but can't figure out why.

The Time Lord stares at the piper as he hears what the ship is saying through Jamie, and slowly lowers his own mental shields. "There wasn't any call for that," he scolds her. For once she doesn't jump right back with her need to bond, instead sending him a tentative curl of greeting.

"Anyway, Doctor, you... you've done it. It's Mars! It must be. You've landed the TARDIS exactly where you said you would," says Polly looking through the scanner.

Ben frowns, "Hey, wait a mo! This doesn't look like Mars to me." Polly asks him how he knows. "I have seen pictures of the moon surface and that's what this looks like," he replies.

"_That's_ the moon?" Jamie looks to the Doctor for an answer and so does Polly. The bad thing is the Time Lord really wanted to show off Mars. His face falls into a frown and he nods.

"Oh well, you weren't too far out, were you? Only two hundred million miles!" Ben says as he laughs.

"All right, let's move on - while we can," the Doctor is quite serious about leaving and turns to the controls.

"Now wait a minute! You don't expect to land us on the moon and let us fly off just like that, do you?" exclaims Polly. Ben joins in with her badgering to look around.

But it's Jamie's look of wonder that changes his mind, "That picture canna be the moon? The moon's way up in the sky." Of course making sure they remember to wear space suits is kind of tricky. He decides that they will take a quick look around, a half-hour tops. After giving it some thought Jamie said, "Maybe we'll meet the old man in the moon."

Ben humors him, "You won't meet anybody mate if you don't get some gear on."

"What? Oh aye," Jamie agrees.

Once the are properly suited up they step out on the moon's surface. They look around and the Doctor begins to get a strange sensation that perhaps his ship has brought him here for a reason. He doesn't like this, not one bit. He's ready to get back inside the TARDIS and leave. "It's deserted," he claims.

Jamie is walking near him, "Yeah, I don't think I like it."

Polly's sighting of lights just make him worry all the more, even though she's the only one to spot it. And then he suggests that they jump… Stupid, stupid… he should have known better. Jamie doesn't know his own strength and goes flying over the side of the crater they've landed in. They rush to find him and discover that there is a Moonbase over the next rise. Jamie's managed to knock himself out by landing on it.

They start to head that way when some men step out of an airlock and move over to Jamie's form. The Doctor closes his eyes and tries to not groan as the lad is carried inside. "Come on, let's go," he orders as he sets off to get his Scotsman back. Wait… did he just think _his_? Oh, for the love of Rassilon! He did, didn't he? Damn. Damn, Damn, _damn_. He reaches the door and bangs on it, Ben and Polly right behind him. Suddenly it slides open. He strides inside. Once they are all through the door closes.

As they exit the sterile room they hear "Nils, speaking. We, er... We got a bit of a flap on up here... Mr. Hobson wants a word with you all..."

Two men step up to them. The leader says, "Hello. Where did you lot spring from? Don't tell me the shuttle rocket arrived already?"

"No, it hasn't."

The other man says, "There was another one with them, sir. Bob taken him along to the Medical unit. He's all right. He's just knocked himself out or something."

"We don't want to cause you any trouble. Just let us collect our young friend and we'll be off," says the Doctor.

He's rather ignored in favor of Polly being escorted to the location where Jamie is. Instead they learn that this is the Earth's weather control station, using the Gravitron and the year is 2070. And the station is suffering from a plague. Something in downing the workers left and right. In fact three men in the last two hours have fallen ill and it seems to have just started happening. Even worse, someone or something is listening in on every communication the base makes.

The Doctor quickly steps in to assist asking to be taken to the sickbay, where Jamie is. The same man, Bob, that had taken Polly there, steps up to escort he and Ben. The room has twelve beds and six are filled. Two of the beds seem to have individuals that are deceased on them as they are totally covered. Three have base personal who are covered with black vein-like marks across their skin. The final bed has Jamie in it. He moves up to the lad as Polly finishes her study of the instruments and begins attaching an automatic emergency regulation unit to the Scotsman's chest. "Is this how its goes, Doctor?" she asks.

He nods and puts a hand on Jamie's face to asses his condition personally, taking some comfort in the instant surge of psychic energy that flows between them, "Yes, that's right. Then, this unit automatically controls the pulse, the temperature and the breathing."

"A sort of electronic Doctor," Polly says.

He frowns, "Yes. Almost got stripe trousers."

Ben moves over and studies the instructions, "It even gives you medicines too."

The Doctor says absent-mindedly, "Yes. It will do very nearly everything." He's gently checking Jamie's eyes and feeling his temperature. Really, the lad should be awake to make sure he doesn't suffer from brain damage. The fact that he's running a fever is odd though. He must have picked up something from the last stop, or the slave ship he was on before that. _Jamie, lad? Can you hear me_? He gets a mental groan back. _Hold onto the link, Jamie. I've got a very bad feeling about this place and I need you to recover_. The lad's mind grips the link like a child clutches a stuffed bear. _Good, Jamie. Very Good_.

"--can't be nice to him. How do you think he is, Doctor?" Polly was asking when he resurfaced out of the deep mental contact.

"Oh, he's not too bad. He's a bit concussed and feverish but he'll be all right with rest."

Jamie groans softly, having followed the Doctor back to awareness. He grips the Doctor's hand, "The Piper! The McCrimmon Piper! Don't let him get me!" he begs as he tries to sit up. The Time Lord puts his other hand on his shoulder, skin to skin, gently guiding him back down. The tingling sensation seems to reassure the lad and he settles somewhat quietly.

"Piper?" Jamie's aware enough to mentally relate the legend of the McCrimmon Piper, a spirit that appears to guide his clan to the beyond. He's frightened of it, and keeps picturing an out of focus human shape that is light in color. Meanwhile Polly's telling him what she's gathered from listening to Jamie mumble. He puts up a hand, "Has this phantom piper appeared to Jamie yet?" He's not getting a clear image of that from Jamie one way or the other and that bothers him.

Disbelieving Polly says, "You don't believe it, do you?"

He looks at her, even though he's loath to take his eyes off Jamie, "No, but he does. It's important to him."

"He keeps asking to keep the piper away from him."

"Good. We can see if we can do just that," the Doctor walks away deep in thought over the puzzle in front of him. He doesn't listen to the spat that erupts between Ben and Polly, but then one of the other men groans and he diverts his attention that way. Polly darts over there, "Don't get too near. Have a look on his chart."

Polly looks at the chart, "It's Dr. Evans."

"Oh, yes. The station doctor. He was the first one to get it."

"He looks one of the worst," Polly says as she eyes the other two.

Something about this is not right. He frowns, "There's something about this epidemic that I... I just don't understand. It's not like a real disease at all! It's almost like...

Ben interrupts him, "Not real! What more do you want?"

Sidetracked he says, "I don't know. But there are certain signs and symptoms, which don't add up." The Doctor studies Ben for a moment and then makes a decision, "Ben, I want you to go to the control room and keep an eye on things." The sailor asks what he's to do. "Give a hand, do anything but keep your eyes and ears open." Ben nods and leaves the room. The Time Lord looks back at the sick; "There's something very wrong indeed." He wanders away to do some investigation on his own. It takes quite a while and when he returns Polly is asleep in a chair. Well they didn't exactly pause between picking up Jamie, saving the world, and landing here, did they. He wonders when the last time it was that she slept.

"What is that?" She starts awake.

He moves over to her, "Shhhh, it's all right Polly. It's only me. We don't want to wake everybody up do we?" He watches as he rubs her forehead as she checks on Jamie again. She's exhausted. "You look if you can do with some sleep yourself."

"I'm all right," Polly looks at what the Doctor has found, "What have you got there?"

"Oh, I been doing a little investigation." He holds up a strip of silver metallic material that she mistakes for silver paper. It's not. She asks what it is. He lies, telling her that he has not a clue. There are cybermen here, and this is a bit from one of their casings. That much he knows, having been driven to regeneration by the monsters. The lights change, indicating a sleep cycle.

Moments later Dr. Evans screams, tossing restlessly, feverish, clearly fighting something. The Doctor narrows his eyes at this. Polly tries to get the sick man's attention but he's not experiencing reality quite correctly at the moment. He whispers, "The hand. No, don't touch me. No. The silver hand." Then he screams again and – dies. Only the Doctor can sense faint mental energy lingering in the man's brain and suspects that he's in stasis. But why?

He informs Polly that he is going to inform the station leader of the events. When he arrives at the control room he finds out that another man has gone missing. Out of nineteen station personal they are down two. The head scientist comes back with the Doctor at the news about Evans. When they arrive back they discover that Evans' body is gone too. The Doctor narrows his eyes. Something is wrong, but he can't put a finger on it right away. The station leader blames them for the missing body. Polly swears she saw a shadow leaving the room. He's bothered by something. He needs to put some space between himself and Jamie so he can think.

Jamie's half-awake, clutching to the link, and terribly thirsty. He moans, "Water. Water." Polly gently touches his arm and tells him that she will get him some, as his glass is empty already. He tosses and turns; then the sound of the door opening makes him snap awake. Sitting up, he's face to face with the creature of his nightmares. This he associates with death, "It's you! The phantom piper!" The silver man-shaped creature advances on him. "No! No, I'll not go with ya." He can see clearly now that this is not human, and likely never was. Hazy memories of fighting these monsters float in his mind's eye and he sees an old man collapsing from the effort of battle, death hovering over him. Then the white-haired man shifts with a golden light into _his_ Doctor. The creature leans over him, and he sends a wave of panic down the link, "Do you hear me piper? No, leave me." It backs away. "Leave me, I'll not go with ya. Do you hear me? Leave me. No, I'll not go with ya." Jamie's slipping back into delirium from the shock. Somehow he knows this thing is death personified. The cyberman moves to another bed. "I'll fight ya every inch of the way," he mumbles as the other patient stirs. The cyberman picks the man up off the bed. "I'll not go with ya. No."

The patient screams, "No!" and he struggles with all his might, but is no match for the silver robotic creature. The cyberman slings him over a shoulder.

This brings Polly back into the sickbay. She hears Jamie, "Leave me piper. No, leave me, I'll not go." But what causes her to freeze is the cyberman who is still in the process of making its exit. She screams. The water falls from her hand and splashes all over the floor. That brings the Doctor, the station leader, and two workers into the room.

"Polly!" The Doctor moves over to her, while the station boss demands to know what is happening. "Polly, what's happened?"

She nearly throws herself into his arms, "Oh, Doctor! Doctor, it was horrible. A great creature like a... like a Cyberman," she starts to cry. He knows they are here, but he needs to calm her, reassure her. Polly looks at him, her mind putting the pieces together, "Yes, but Doctor, the -the Cyberman was carrying one of the patients out!"

Jamie sits up, "I'll not go with you!" The Doctor looks over to him and sends a wave down the link. The clear image of a cyberman is pressed back at him. They look different, a new model, but yes, these are cybermen.

The station boss, Hobson, makes Polly go over the story again, dismissing the cyberman part and demanding to know where his three missing men have gone. Ben comes into the room and takes a position to back Polly up. The Doctor moves to Jamie and puts a hand on his arm and gently coaxes him back to sleep. The Scotsman looks at him and grips his hand trying to understand what it is that they've encountered. The Time Lord mentally explains about the soulless metal men from the tenth planet of the Sol system named Mondas. Jamie surprises him by thinking back, _They killed you_. He grips the lad's hand tighter. How in Omega's name did Jamie know that?

He's not given the time to ponder this, however. Hobson stomps over, "What do you know about all this?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." He lies through his teeth, and makes himself believe every word of it.

Glaring he says, "That's enough! Now let's have a little calm thinking. For the past two weeks a completely unknown disease has appeared in the base. People drop in their tracks; they develop this black pattern on their skin. Then some of the patients disappear, right?" He turns back to Ben and Polly, "Well, they can't leave the base without wearing space suits, there are no space suits missing, so where are they?"

"You think we did it. That we caused your people to get sick?" Polly says in amazment.

"Oh, come off it, we haven't done a thing!" Ben exclaims.

Hobson narrows his eyes, "That's as maybe. I don't know who you are, what you are or where you come from..." He shifts to include the Doctor in his glare, "...but you can get off the moon now."

"Yeah, well that suits me fine. The sooner the better!" Ben says as he marches to the door.

Sadly the Doctor says, "No Ben, we can't go yet." The sailor stares at him in disbelief and demands to know why. The Time Lord slowly releases Jamie's hand, "There is something evil here and we must stay."

"Evil? Don't be daft!" Hobson says.

"Evil is what I meant. There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything that we believe in. They must be fought. This disease, for instance. It isn't really a disease at all but I can help you with it. You'll see. I'll find the cause for you." Hobson challenges him to do just that. He assures the man that he can and he will. The station boss gives him twenty-four hours to make good on the claim. He gets directions to the equipment and sets to work straight away, sending Ben and Polly off to collect samples of everything they can find on the base. He then sets off to do likewise.

Once he's collected a tray of samples he heads back to the sickbay and discovers that Polly is lying on the floor, "Polly! What's happened? Polly!" He can't wake her. But after a quick examination he realizes that she's been zapped by a cyberman's weapon. He carefully moves her into a chair and sets to work. Polly comes to, aware of the Doctor talking to himself, "Ttt. Nothing. Absolutely nothing." She watches him stand up.

"Isn't there any clue at all?" she asks.

He looks over at her, glad that she's awake. "No. It's a complete blank. All the tests are negative. As far as I can see this whole ridiculous place is completely sterile!" But then… perhaps he's looking for the wrong thing? Could it be poison? He no longer has a patient to check that for. After making sure that Hobson doesn't come barging in on him he sends Polly out to make coffee for the crew so he can think about this some more.

Finally he decides to just tell Hobson the truth. This 'sickness' is not caused by a disease. Then Polly comes back with the coffee and the Doctor witnesses a breakthrough moment when one of the men is stricken with the 'disease' as he's watching. It's the sugar. It's the sugar when combined with the coffee! "Don't drink that!" He smacks Hobson's coffee out of his hand before he can drink it. "It's the sugar! Don't you see? That's why the disease doesn't affect everyone. It's the sugar in the coffee, not everyone takes it!" He carefully picks up the container and carries his untouched coffee back into the sickbay and over to the microscope. He puts some sugar onto a slide then looks. Nothing. He snags a dropper and puts some coffee on another slide and looks. Nothing. Then he puts some sugar into another container, adds some coffee and stirs it.

"What are you doing?" Hobson demands as he stalks up to the little rumpled man.

"Just be patient," the Doctor snaps at him. He prepares a third slide with the sugar-coffee solution and examines this under the microscope. Something has started to move in the solution. As he watches one of the not quite dissolved grains of sugar breaks open like an egg and reveals another of the organisms. "Just as I thought. A large, neurotropic virus." Hobson takes a look when invited, and draws a comparison to the space plaque. "No. It's a large, infective agent that only attacks the nerves. That's why the patients have got these lines on their faces and their hands. It follows the course of the nerves under the skin. I believe the Cybermen have deliberately infected the base." Hobson insists that there's not a single place where a cyberman could be hiding. But the Doctor looks around the room. Something tells him that three beds should be filled. Only two are. Jamie is in one. Who is in the other? He assumed it was a body. "You say you searched all the base? And only four of your men have gone missing?

"Yes. What of it?"

"Did your men search in here?" Hobson looks sheepish. "Did they?"

"Well... there are always people in here so they thought that..."

_Oh hell… _The Doctor grips Hobson's arm and whispers urgently, "Did they search in here?"

"No!"

The Time Lord moves over to the 'body' and flicks the edge of the blanket off its foot. "Oh no!" Polly says as the Doctor motions everyone back. "No! No! Oh no!" The Cyberman gets up off the bed having been exposed. It pulls a gun and advances on them. Hobson finally realizes that the Doctor's been right all along. The creature shoots one of the crewmen who tries to attack it. Then a second one appears in the opposite doorway.

"Remain still," it orders. Then it directs all but Ben and Polly to move into the control room. The other Cyberman goes with it after it informs the two humans, "You will remain here. If you leave you will be converted like the others."

They are left with one infected patient and Jamie. Ben looks at Polly, "I don't like that word - _converted_." She makes a face and shakes her head.

The Doctor discovers that these Cybermen recognize him. Meaning that he'll be seeing them again in their past but his future. They intend on destroying earth. Or trying to. He has to stop them. The first step is to drive these two from the base, or destroy them. Just his luck… he's fresh out of gold.

Jamie wakes finally. He's feeling much better. The Doctor's mind brushes his and he smiles before trying to get out of bed. Polly spots him and rushes over, "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" She feels his forehead and notices the temperature is normal, "You seem to be better."

He tries to sit up the rest of the way, "Aye, I feel myself again."

"Lie back there!"

"But I'm better!" he protests, sitting up all the way. Then he puts a hand to his head, "Oh, my head." Polly smiles at him and tells him that he wasn't seeing his phantom piper after all. "It had me worried though, I admit that."

Ben comes over. "Those Cybermen have got us all worried mate. We see them in action before."

"They must have some weakness." Polly says.

"Well, in my day, they used to sprinkle witches with holy water," Jamie tells her.

Ben laughs, "Fat lot of use that would be on them."

"Sprinkle... Holy Water... Ben! Their suit is a metal of some sort, but the chest unit is plastic. If we mix up a chemical that dissolves plastic…" She turns to the chemical shelves. "Now what sort of solvents do we need for that?"

Ben looks over at Jamie totally mystified at what direction Polly is taking this plan of hers. The Scotsman shrugs and takes advantage of the situation to get to his feet and find his clothes.

Unknown to Polly, Ben and Jamie a third cyberman has entered the base, bringing with it the four men that had been removed previously. They order all the workers against the far wall. They then use the controlled men to work the Gravitron, intending to have the earth destroyed within the next twelve hours.

Polly is madly brewing up a solvent cocktail. She finds the little bit of silver material and studies it a moment. There, on the edge of it is a tiny flake of cybermen's plastic. She carefully cuts it away. Only one chance at this, so she better get it right.

"I still don't know what you are on about," Ben says.

"We haven't got gold, do we? But the chest unit is their weak spot anyhow. We melt that…"

"I get it! It will clobber their controls or something."

"Yes, that's it. I've only got one tiny sample to test it on, however."

"Make up a mixture." She does so. Then they test it and it dissolves the cyber-plastic and the plastic bottle nearby. "And lets put it in these thin glass test tubes." Ben suggests.

The Doctor leans over to Hobson back in the control room. The station leader says, "Why have they gone to so such trouble? Why didn't they operate the control themselves?"

Now that is a good question. _Funny_. "Funny." _To go to all that trouble to make the men do the work. Why_? "Do it themselves, easy." _They're using the men as tools. Why_? "Don't know." _Yes, I do though_. "There must be something in there they don't like." _Pressure_? "No, no." _Electricity_? "No." _Radiation_? "Maybe." _Grav... Gravity! Now there's a thought. Gravity_. "Oh yes, Gravity!" He looks at Hobson, "It's the Gravitron itself, the gravity field it generates."

The earth tries to contact them and the cybermen prevent them from answering. Once the transmission stops Hobson whispers, "If they don't get our next transmission, they'll send up a relief rocket."

Back in the sickbay Polly and Ben are filling test tubes while Jamie stoppers them with rubber corks, "Poar," Ben chokes, "What did you put in it?"

"Let's think... Belezine, Ether, Alcohol, Acetone and Profane." They finish up and split the containers. "Now, come on." She says.

They all head to the door, "Not you, Polly. This is men's work." She rolls her eyes and keeps following them. "I thought that I told you to stay behind," Ben scolds her.

The reach the control room. "I'm coming with you." Jamie starts to protest and Ben gives him a headshake. Once Polly's got in her head to do something it's impossible to stop her.

Instead Ben gives final instructions before they head into battle, "Now look, we only have one chance at this. When I open the door, drop down as low as you can, aim the bombs at their chests. Keep throwing and moving. Don't let them hit you. Right?" Jamie nods. He's been in battle; he knows what to do to survive. Besides his Doctor is there. Ben glances through the window in the door. "There are three of them. Ready?"

Even as the cybermen become aware that someone is outside the door the Doctor senses that Jamie is there and that a plan is underway. He's suspected that the controls on the men are sonic, so he backs up a step into one of the unmanned control banks. The first cyberman moves toward the door and the Time Lord shifts the controls causing a shrill tone to fill the room. The men working the Gravitron start to jerk about then freeze. The third cyberman fights with the control box.

The second cyberman aims his weapon at the Doctor as Jamie, Ben, and Polly burst into the room tossing test tubes at the silver man-shaped monsters. "Quick, get their chest things!" Ben reminds them.

Jamie rolls in front of the Doctor, pegs the cyberman with a double handful of solvent filled test tubes and then grabs the man and drags him into cover. Behind them the cyberman's chest unit dissolves in a mass of goo. Jamie looks at the Time Lord and pins him, kneeling, to the side of the console. They stare at each other. "Aye, thank ye," Jamie says before quickly leaning in and kissing the dark haired, gray brown eyed man on the lips for the briefest of moments. He then scrambles to his feet and is back in the fight, helping Ben and Polly. The Doctor sits there with a hand over his tingling lips, blinking.

It's the sound of the last cyberman falling that gets him to his feet, "What are you waiting for?" he rushes into the power room, "Get these things off their heads!" The quickly move the infected men back to the sickbay and take control of the station again.

Hobson says, "Now listen everybody. I don't know how many more of these Cybermen there are, but our point of view we are under siege. I'll reckon they will be back in a bit... Charlie, keep trying to get through to Earth. Right?" the man nods. "The rest of you, lower the armoured doors at all exits." He looks at the three with the solvents, "Make up as much of that gubbins that you got, we may need it." Polly nods and she and Ben rush back to the stores to find more solvents.

Then they play the waiting game. Jamie suggests that they take a bit of a walk to "check the armoured doors" although the Time Lord gets the impression that he's thinking about something else entirely. He decides to humor the lad. Jamie steers him into an alcove, "Remember when we were in that wee cage?" The Doctor nods. "I'm not a bairn, Doctor. It's dangerous traveling with you. I gather that if I'm going to survive it I'll need to live every second as if it's my last." He pushes the dark headed man farther into the shadows until he's got him up against the wall. "If I die before my next breath, I want there to be no regrets."

"Jamie?" The Doctor isn't quite sure where the lad is going with this.

"If I don't do this, I will regret missing this moment," Jamie puts his hands on the Doctor's face and kisses him. The Time Lord is rather surprised at how bold the Scotsman is being. _Kiss me_. The order ripples across his mind like lightening dancing across a thundercloud. He puts his hands on Jamie's arms and timidly responds, not exactly sure how to do this as a two-person activity. Jamie doesn't let that bother him. It's one thing to know what you want and totally another to know how to go about getting it. He shifts to work a knee between the other man's trouser clad legs. The contact even through the cloth makes him respond with a rush of heat. The Doctor lets out a gasp. Jamie pulls back slightly; resting his forehead against the other man's as the waves of energy wash over him. _Look at me_. Gray brown meets blue-green. The link snaps and crackles with the intensity of the physical reactions going on as nerves across both their bodies fire off in rapid waves. The Doctor groans slightly as Jamie shifts to press himself close against him, feeling what the lad in feeling on top of his own sensations, the racing tingles, throbbing heat, intense self applied pressure that is almost painful, thudding heart, and shuddered breathing. _Let me _feel_ you_. Jamie watches the flickering expressions as the Doctor thinks about his request. He begins kissing the man's face, bracing himself against the wall, pinning the Time Lord there. _Please_.

_Oh, this is going to be – intense_. The Doctor can't deny Jamie. He's not overly sure on the wisdom of this, but he can't tell him no. He brings his fingers up to the lad's face, tilting it back slightly so he can look at this wonderful human. "Jamie – I will. But we should be sitting. Not as far to fall." The Scotsman gives him a smile that rivals the sun and leads him into the storeroom where they can lock the door. The Doctor removes his coat and his shoes. He settles down on one of the bags in the room. Jamie moves over and undoes his bow tie, kisses him, and sets down with his legs entangled up in the Time Lord's. He's trembling. A good part of that is arousal; some of it is fear. But he lets Jamie work his mind back into where it was before, strung out and shivering with need, and does something for the lad that he'd never think of doing with anyone else. He lets his shields all the way down so that Jamie can feel him feeling what Jamie feels into infinity. They sit there, frozen and panting for an eternal moment, neither one daring to move.

_My lord… Oh…_ Jamie rocks slightly, increasing the pressure and intensity of their touch driving them both into a rapid ascent. The Doctor puts his hands on the lad's hips holding him still. Then he works his fingers under Jamie's shirt, touching off mini-explosions as he taps his way up the lad's torso. Jamie doesn't move, curious at to what he is going to do. He pulls the Scotsman in close suddenly and slides his hands down the spine. Jamie arches, pushing their groins together, flying apart in a thousand different directions. He's aware that he's feeling a different pulse along side his own, a separate shattering, they're falling together and feeling each other go at the same time. He rides it all the way out to the very last shutter.

Jamie feels like his arms and legs are noodles. The cool body under his has a very pleasant but inhuman pulse. Somehow they've ended up on the floor. "Jamie?"

"'em… We do that again, sometime?"

The Doctor laughs and hugs him, and Jamie is happy to notice that the shields are back in place. _Yes. Sleep now_. Drowsily the lad nods and wraps his arms around his Doctor. They both nap for a few hours. When he wakes up The Doctor has an idea, one that just might drive the cybermen off for good. He smiles at Jamie, and they both get themselves somewhat straightened out. He then heads off to find the station leader. When he does he asks, "Mr. Hobson, how far can the probe be lowered down?"

"About thirty degrees."

"That's no good." He gets a curious look from Hobson. The Doctor asks, "Can any other part be lowered?"

"Well, the main coil lenses can be shifted about without too much trouble but too much trouble..."

They are interrupted by several threats and attempts by the cybermen outside trying to get in, but eventually the Doctor manages to push his idea. He indicates the Gravitron, "How far _down_ can this be aimed?"

"Down?" Hobson doesn't get it. But his second does. He rushes to move the field down to the lunar surface. They set up a relay signal system so that the cybermen outside don't know what they are up to. They are able to lower the field down to within six feet of the ground using the controls. Then they have to turn the safety off. The probe lowers and the cybermen are pulled up off the surface of the moon, ships and all. The station workers erupt into cheers.

"We did it! Ha ha!" the Doctor is delighted. Jamie beams at him. Hobson quickly gets everyone back to work. While the station returns to normal the Doctor and his companions slip away. They make rather a mad dash to the TARDIS. The Time Lord gets them inside and into the Vortex. "There we are. In perfect flight."

Polly rolls her eyes, "Yes, and look what happened last time."

"Oh, that. What a lot of fuss. Just a bumpy landing, that's all. It won't happen again," the Doctor tells her. The three companions exchange doubtful glances. After a moment of silence the Time Lord says, "I know."

"What are you up to now?" Ben asks.

"Let's have a look at the time scanner." He throws a switch. _Well, you stubborn old machine, where are you insisting on taking us now, and why_? Verity pops up an image.

"The what?" Polly inquires.

"The time scanner. Instead of the normal picture showing where we are it gives you a glimpse of the future."

Jamie can hear the ship thinking, _Well you stubborn old coot, what do you make of this_? "The second sight? Very dangerous," he warns.

"Oh nonsense. I haven't used it very much. It's--" he coughs, "not very reliable as you can see."

Polly looks at the scanner, "Doctor." He glances at her, "Oh, Look! Uhh!" She shivers with revulsion. The scanner is showing a giant crab like claw opening and closing.


	4. There's a thing that they can't touch

A/N: _This is a detailed side story for my Doctor Who AU 'Verse. It's 'All About' Jamie and the Doctor. How they met, what adventures they had, and finally why they were parted. It's a prequel to __**Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse **__even though I'm writing it now, and mean it to be read in conjunction with __**Doctor Who and the Tangled Web**__. This is meant for those folks with no exposure to the second Doctor. This chapter covers the serial "The Macra Terror". Scenes that don't have either the Doctor or Jamie directly involved will not be included. Transcripts of the episodes are used as reference for dialogue, along with photonovels where the BBC has lost / destroyed them. Inspiration and Titles come from the T.a.t.u song "All About Us" that was used for the video featuring this ship. See __**TARDIS Parking**__ for the links to both Transcripts and video.  
Thanks to Kyer and OtherMeWriter for the lovely reviews. I went and looked at the color images of the second doctor again and am changing the eye color from 'gold-brown' to 'gray-brown'. Of all the color pictures I've found only one shows him with 'blue' eyes. All the others his eyes look light brownish to gray. Thanks for pointing that out._

Part Four

_There's a thing that they can't touch_

The claw on the time scanner wasn't as unreliable as the Doctor wanted to pass it off for. It really existed in an important place that it shouldn't exist at. Verity knew that it wasn't the fate of all humanity, or anything, but the threat was a real one and after saving Earth twice maybe something smaller would be restful. So she settled for this lost colony that would someday snap itself into a position of importance for at least part of its existence. Currently the planet outside the colony itself was habitable but barren. The terraforming projects had been sidetracked by the arrival of an alien invader. She materializes outside the colony and tries to give the Doctor a feeling of compassion. He gruffly brushes her off, still being touchy about the cybermen. He opens the door and heads out. Ben, Polly, and Jamie follow him with the piper choosing to carry a large stick for defense.

There's a little horsing around by Ben that The Doctor finds himself having to clamp his reactions down about. He doesn't like what Ben is doing by trying to roughhouse with _his_ Jamie. Damn. He's becoming a jealous bastard. Fortunately Polly scolds the sailor for him. "Have you no sense? Have you forgot what we saw on that time scanner?" Jamie rants at Ben. Polly slinks back at the memory of it.

"I'm afraid you're wasting your time, Jamie," The Doctor tells him. After the lad asks why he continues, "Unless I'm very much mistaken, these creatures are so big they're going to see us long before we see them."

Suddenly someone small, dark headed, bearded, but very strong rushes out of cover right at the piper. Polly calls out a warming even as Jamie raises the stick to defend himself with. Seconds later Ben jumps in to grab the fellow. Polly even joins in, "Sit on top of him!" Guards arrive and drag the man off who struggles in their grasp. Ben is cradling his arm. Polly turns to him as she brushes some of the dust off, "Ben, are you all right?" He nods to her.

The leader of the guards, Ola, both thanks them for their help and more or less orders them to come back to the colony to 'meet the pilot'. The way that the fellow who attacked Jamie, Medok, is being treated gives the impression that this is not an optional thing. While they are binding the man Jamie looks at the Doctor and inquires, "Er, uh, any good asking where we are?"

And actually it's a good question but the Time Lord hadn't stopped to check. "Well, according to my calculations we're, er, certainly in the future and, er, on a planet very like the Earth."

"How do you know?" the Scotsman asks.

The Doctor makes a face and tilts his head toward Jamie, "I don't know. I'm guessing."

They are led/escorted/cheerfully poked back to the colony. The noise at the entrance arch is enough to make the Time Lord cringe. He looks over at Jamie who is having a similar reaction. While the music is cheerful the words strike him as being brainwashing and tedious. Ola leads them up to Pilot who in turn overly cheerfully thanks them and informs them that the music is how they regulate their day.

Ben is gun ho to check this out, as he is in most cases. The Doctor stays with him, wanting to look around but for a totally different reason. Polly still is thinking about that giant claw and hangs back. And Jamie figures his job is to watch the Doctor's back, so he needs to be in the rear of the group. The Scotsman says to Polly, "Keep your eyes skinned, they're a weird sort of folk. I don't know that I understand them." Polly nods, sensing that the colonists are all rather too the same for her tastes.

They are taken to the 'Refreshing Department' that ends up being a health spa type of thing. The music here is calming. The pilot leads them into the space and is told that 'Control' wants to welcome the guests. The Doctor notes that this 'Control' is called 'they' but once the screen it turned on a still image appears of a single man along with a message that plays, "We wish to welcome joyfully the visitors to our colony. We are very grateful to them. They have performed a valuable service. The Colony is to make our guests happy and contented during their stay. Welcome again, friends. Now, back to work, everyone!"

Pilot turns them over to another fellow. Polly seems charmed by the still image they were shown. Jamie folds his arms across his chest and glowers. The Doctor is smiling and acting like he buys this hook line and sinker, but then Jamie notes his eyes are not smiling at all. In fact the Doctor has a cunning look in them that makes the piper want some time alone with him so that they can talk about this. While Ben and Polly both seem to see nothing wrong with taking advantage of the services being offered, neither the Doctor nor Jamie is over thrilled with being forced to conform no matter how nicely the attendants go about it. In fact the Doctor rather quickly undoes the neatly groomed look that he's given, much to Jamie's relief. Now if he could just get his kilt back…

Polly is brought back to them with a much-changed look, her long blond hair cropped off shorter than Ben's. Jamie thinks she looks like a bairn but for the paint on her face. The three of them are given clothes that match what the colonists are wearing, and he suspects that the Doctor is too but that the canny fellow refuses to wear them. "Oh, you look smashing. You really do. You look like a prince. Jamie that's super. It really is," Polly assures him of his new groomed look when he finally manages to get away from the lassies. The only one he wants touching him is the Doctor, and he doesn't like the new uniforms.

The Time Lord and his friends are left for a bit, having assured the leader of this department that they at least mostly look like they belong. The Doctor puts his hand on Jamie's and tries to assure him that things are under control. The piper steps closer and attempts to store up on the contact as discretely as possible. A nice quiet room where they can be alone would be good, but he's guessing that they are not going to get it. Then the Doctor spots Medok being dragged through by Ola and the guards. This place isn't a spa but a holding area, and the other man is being locked into a room. He squeezes Jamie's hand then moves off to intercept. While he's trying to talk to Medok, Ola tells him not to, and Medok reveals that he doesn't believe either of them belong there. As soon as the guards have moved away the Doctor sets to picking the lock.

Once he's accomplished this, in spite the interruption by one of the attendants, he slips inside the room and tries to talk to Medok again. The fellow is alarmed at the fact that the Doctor has come into his room. "Shh, I'm going to set you free," the rumpled Time Lord sets to undoing the man's bonds. "Just hold still a minute. There we are. One more." The ropes come away, "Don't bother to say thank you. Now, tell me something about these things that you see, hmm? Do they, for instance, appear to crawl slowly over the ground?"

"How do you know?" Medok asks.

The Doctor tries to reassure him, "Oh, just wondered that's all." But the man is jumpy and flees at the first noise outside his door, "It's all right, I won't let them hurt you. Why don't you listen to me?"

"Get out of my way! I am not being caught!" Medok says as he pushes past and out into the hall beyond. He takes off in a run as an alarm sounds. The door shuts, cutting off the rest of the noise, and as there's no handle on the inside, the Doctor sighs and sits down to wait. Shortly thereafter Pilot, Ola, and the Doctor's companions open the door.

Pilot demands to know what happened. The Doctor explains that he tried to explain to Medok that he wouldn't get hurt and that the man took off anyhow. He denies that he was deliberately setting the man free. Ola wants to arrest him for it, but Polly and the Doctor manage to convince Pilot to not let him. Night will be falling soon and Ola insists that the entire colony is scared of Medok. The Doctor says, "He can run you know. He's got legs. He doesn't have to crawl over the ground." This agitates the chief of the police who threatens the Doctor with a correction treatment for spreading rumors. Pilot steps in and orders Ola to let the strangers visit the 'labor center' so that they learn to understand why Medok is so dangerous.

The Doctor knows however, that the situation is not what it seems. Medok is not the enemy here. But what is? He suspects after his visit to the labor center that it's some sort of parasite. The Controller strikes him a blatantly fake. And why are the laboring workers so intent on mining a gas with no value to humans? He stands there with a clinched jaw and a hard look as the workers act like mind washed zombies, coming and going in unison. These colonists are happily kept slaves. With great sarcasm Jamie leans over and says, "That's a nice wee tune Doctor," when the shift change occurs. The work shifts seem to be constant, never stopping. The Doctor nods about the observation, and Jamie asks, "Uh, what do ye do then? Farming or fishing?"

"We work very hard here," the shift leader responds.

"Yes, but what do you do?" The Doctor presses.

The shift leader blinks, "We tap and refine gas." Polly asks if it is used for heating and is told, "No, we use it for many things. The Colony depends on it. It's absolutely essen..." the man is cut off as an alarm blares and some workers stagger into the room. Their fellows rush over to help them. In the chaos that follows the Doctor taps Jamie, _Keep an eye on Ben and Polly. I've got to try to talk to Medok_.

_Aye. I don't like this_.

Giant claws, poison gas… mental brainwashing… The Doctor is piecing together who the enemy is, if only he could get a good look at them. He slips away to where he spotted Medok hiding. Once he reaches where the man is he tries to talk to him. "Shh! I saw you."

Medok is nervous and suspicious. "Get out!"

"Oh, that's not very polite. I was interested in what you were saying," the Doctor tells him. The fellow demands to know who the Time Lord has told about his hiding spot. "No one. Why should I tell them? Now these creatures - have you seen them clearly? What do they look like?" It takes some coaxing and the Doctor informing Medok, "I'm interested. What do they look like?"

But eventually the man says, "If you really want to know. It's hard to say. They move at night, in the dark. And look horrible. Creatures...like giant insects."

"With big claws?"

"Yes, that's it." Then Medok says that he's seen them in the colony and that anyone else that has seen them is taken to the hospital for correction and locked up there. The alarm sounding prompts him to say, "And they'll put you back there for helping me. Go on! Quickly! They're looking for you!" He says as the sounds of Ben's, Polly's, and Jamie's voices call out for the Doctor. The alarm continues to sound the entire time.

The voices fade and the Doctor assures Medok that everything will work out. He slips away back to the refreshing department to hear Jamie doing his best to keep Polly and Ben from going back out to look again. He pulls his recorder and plays it as he approaches the chamber. His companions are in there along with the chief of police and some guards. He stops playing as they turn to look at him, "Were you looking for me?"

"Where have you been?" Polly demands to know.

"Just looking around, that's all." He smiles at her

Ola steps in, "It's dangerous to go off on your own after dark, and we're confined to rest cubicles at night by order of Control. Anyone who wanders around the Colony at night... may be killed."

At that moment there's fanfare followed by, "Curfew time. All personnel not on duty must retire to quarters. Emergency patrols two and three to remain on duty. Work shifts to remain at their posts until dawn. Visitors to retire for the night to the refreshing department."

"Do you hear that? You're confined here," Ola states before he walks out of the room.

Jamie moves over to the Doctor, "Like Inverness, this is, only without the sea seepin' in."

"Very astute of you, Jamie."

The head of the refreshing department appears up to show them to their rooms. Quite frankly Jamie doesn't want to go into the room he's supposed to share with Ben. Ben and Polly don't want him there either. The Doctor opens his door and looks out to see Jamie being urged into the hallway by the blonde woman who is looking for some time alone with Ben. This suits Jamie fine, but he puts up a token resistance to hide how thrilled he is about her giving him an excuse to head across the hall. "Fine! I'll just head over and keep the Doctor company! Maybe we'll play our pipes." Ben groans and closes the door. Polly's laugh faintly comes through it. Jamie turns and looks at the dark haired man who is watching him. "'Tis Ok with you, isn't it?"

The Doctor motions him over, "I suspect that Ben and Polly need a few hours of not being threatened by anything. Come on in, Jamie."

Jamie steps into the cubical and begins removing the button-up double-breasted uniform like shirt. He hates the thing, honestly. "You intend on sleeping?"

"No. I don't need as much rest as you do." He watches the Scotsman strip down to his tee and pants.

"Don't like the clothes. I want my kilt back. Too much cloth against my parts for my comfort." He digs at the form-fitting undergarment.

The doctor picks the sheet off the bed and moves over to the piper, "I'll try to find it for you." He steps up and drapes the sheet around Jamie's waist, "Go on. Take the pants off if they bother you." Jamie catches his hands before the Doctor can step away, feeling the tingle through the fabric where the Doctor's hand is resting as it holds the bunched cloth. "This is another one of _those_ moments isn't it?" The lad nods. The pants are becoming very much too tight. The Doctor surprises him by putting his other hand right over the problem, resting a cool, firm, electrifying hand over throbbing heat. Jamie tightens his grip as the Doctor steps in even closer behind him. "Is it more intense being so confined?"

Jamie swallows, "Aye."

"I've a confession to make, Jamie." The lad turned his head to look at the older man; "I've no idea what I'm doing where you are concerned. You completely remove me from my element. And I love it. I love how you make me feel."

"Kiss me like I kissed you on the moon."

Jamie finds himself against the wall, pinned. The Doctor can kiss. He's fairly good at it, and getting better with practice. Jamie circles his arms around the fellow and digs his fingers into the thick dark hair, responding to the attention in kind. The connection snaps back into place, and the Scotsman can feel cool fingers slide under the sheet, and past the bands marking the top if the underpants, and down, taking the annoying garment with them, leaving trails of sparks across his buttocks. He shifts to help get the annoying things completely off his legs.

Then he turns attention to the Doctor's clothes, thinking that perhaps the man has too much on. He was pleased to note that the Doctor seems to share his impression at this point, quickly shedding much of his layers as Jamie focuses on getting his hands in contact with skin. It's nice to feel how his touch ripples across the cool flesh, the heat of his fingers sinking into the layers of the Doctor's being, fading into sparking tingles. He begins kissing across the other man's jaw toward his ear, taking a thrilling joy out of the feel if the stubble under his lips and the taste of honey that seems to sweeten the Doctor's skin. He reaches the earlobe and suckles on it, making the Time Lord gasp and tremble. "I want to taste you all over…" he whispers, "I want to crawl inside and become part of you."

"Ah-- Believe me – you are. Um." Jamie strokes his fingers down the Doctor's spine, much as had been done to him. It draws out a musical groan. Jamie wonders how the dark haired man would react if he licked him that way. The thought makes the Doctor moan, "Oh… Such thoughts."

"Only because of you. And you _like_ it." He begins kissing and licking down the throat, across the shoulder, onto the shoulder blade, as he moves behind the Doctor, letting his fingers wander over the rest of the cool exposed skin. Jamie's touch leaves the sensation of cooling embers across his skin that fade into sparks of psychic energy. The lad's quickly learning how to tap into his nervous system to get him to react the way he wants him to. Trembling, he sinks to his knees. Jamie follows, smoothly, not missing anything. The lad's erotic ideas about touching him, tasting him, feeling him, spark off his own thoughts about wanting and needing... Jamie strokes his chest, reaching around from behind. His breath ghosts over the Doctor's left clavicle as he moves to that side. "Sensitive there?" The entire left side of his body becomes hyper aware as Jamie's lips brush over the spot. "_Oh_," Jamie exclaims as the sensation flows into him. He attacks the spot with renewed fervor, suckling on it and licking and biting, marking this man as his.

He's building, climbing higher and higher… what is this that the lad's found? _Oh by Rassilon_! He feels hollow on the inside, like something is missing. "Jamie…"

The Doctor is flushed, nerves firing off like they are overloaded. The Scottish piper looks at him. He did this. He made this wonderful being feel this way. "Tell me what ye want, Doctor."

"More-- please."

Jamie smiles and begins exploring again, working his way down, looking for other areas that are sensitive and not the same as his own body. He's figured out something interesting. He can build the Doctor up higher and higher, more and more tightly strung, and as long as he himself doesn't fall off the edge they won't reach climax. The Scotsman is not sure of the why of this, but it is fun to play with at the moment. He knows the teasing he's doing makes it all the more of an explosion when it does finally occur. He's serious about wanting to be totally inside, completely together. And the Doctor is almost at that point too. He can feel the need building. Jamie doesn't leave even a centimeter of skin untouched, un-tasted, un-nibbled. He goes all the way to the Doctor's toes then back up again, pulling off the undershirt, leaving them both completely nude. They pause as Jamie realigns his body with the Doctor's. "If you want me to stop--" Jamie finds himself cut off by a kiss that would steal his breath away but for the fact that the Doctor is breathing for him.

_I'll never want you to stop, silly boy_.

_Oh, good. Then I won't_. He maneuvers a bit and slides himself flush so that they are making as much skin contact as possible. He feels cool legs circle his waist to keep him there, still for a moment. Then the Doctor's inner mental walls come down. They connect, flesh to flesh, mind to mind, soul to soul. Jamie is inside him, outside him, through him, mingled… impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins. Slowly, they begin to move creating trails of sparks across their combined awareness. And like this they climb up to the peak and crash into thousands of glittering pieces…

After a long, long point of blankness Jamie feels fingers in his hair and lips against his neck. "My Jamie. My beautiful Jamie…" He smiles at the words and turns to kiss the arm that he's resting on. He smells of salt and honey and he knows he never wants to wash that away. They are tangled in the sheet on the floor and neither of them cares much. He's sated, although not completely comfortable. The floor is hard. Jamie slowly stretches. The link between them crackles with lazy energy, comforting in its flow.

"Now, _that_… I wanna do that as often as we can." He sits up, "Maybe even on a bed, eh?"

"Next time, my Jamie, I believe a bed would be splendid." The Doctor gets to his feet and helps the piper up and over to the bed where they both sit. "But I think… screaming 'Doctor' might not be the best thing when we're doing it. Would you like to know one of my names that you can pronounce, Jamie?"

Jamie blushes, "Did I scream?"

"Yes. I'm fairly sure that Ben and Polly were far too busy to hear you. How about you call me Thete in private?"

"Thete – I like that." Jamie chews on his lip and flirts with him, "So you're _my_ Thete then, ya?"

The Doctor's eyes get a look of deep affection, "Always. Jamie." The piper smiles and brushes his thumb over the mark on the Doctor's left clavicle. The energy spikes a bit. Thete puts his hand over the Scotsman's.

"You should go find Medok, Doctor," Jamie says.

They hear Polly heading back to her own room. "Keep an eye on Ben, Jamie. I have a funny feeling about how this place keeps everyone so cheerful." The lad nods. He quite shares that odd feeling. They redress and part, Jamie heading back to his room with Ben and the Doctor quietly slipping out to find Medok.

Although he's warned by the controller to not leave the refreshing department, the Doctor heads back to the last location he saw Medok at dodging patrols as he makes his way from shadow to shadow. He finds the fellow and cautions him to not move. The guards are searching and it takes a bit to convince him to stay put. Finally the Doctor says, "Wait! If he comes in this way, we'll go out the back. If he comes in the back, we'll go out here." But Ola heard them talking and is getting closer. He calls for his men to come search around where he is and the Doctor motions, "All right. Go back."

"You can't stay here," Medok protests.

"I'll try to create a diversion."

Medok clutches his arm, "No, they'll kill you!"

"Do as I tell you." The fellow looks grateful. "Go on. Go on." The Doctor pushes him back, following him into the shadows toward the back. "All right, we'll go through this opening when I give the word." He checks then orders, "Right. Now!"

Medok yanks him back, "No, look. Out there. In that patch of moonlight. I told you I'd seen them!" The man is pointing and the Doctor has to scan the night twice to spot it, like the creature has already begun it's mind control process to make people not see it. But there is no mistaking it. It's a sentient Macra, large and crab-like with glowing eyes. He blinks as he shakes off the subconscious suggestion that he saw nothing. The Macra has slipped into the darkness. "Ah! That proves it! I wasn't seeing things!"

"Medok - the guards. They'll hear you."

"It doesn't matter. They can't lock me up again. Now I can prove it. We know they're real." He calls out; "It's the Macra, Ola! They are real! Ask the Doctor. He'll tell you."

Ola says, "We don't want to know what the strangers think. Stay where you are. Guards - search him. You're going before the Pilot. You are in the company of an escaped criminal. And you were out in the Colony at night."

Medok looks like he's about to cry, "I'm sorry, Doctor. I thought he'd listen to reason. You're going to be in trouble, and it's my fault."

The Doctor pats Medok on the arm. They are marched off to see Pilot. It's quickly explained where they were found and Medok steps in and claims that the Doctor was out there trying to get him to turn himself in. Feeling sad, the Doctor lets the fellow divert the colony leader's ire off him and is sent back to the refreshing department. He does discover that Pilot can track everyone in the colony from his office, and that individuals who believed in the virtues of 'healthy happiness' founded the colony many centuries ago. It seems that any method necessary to reach that uniformity was thought totally proper. He's then escorted back to his room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ben was sound asleep when Jamie came back into the cubicle they shared. He couldn't complain about the faint smell of sex in the room, considering what he'd been doing across the hall. Jamie removes his shoes again, having never put the jacket back on to begin with and settles down. He's not really tired, and his link with the Doc – Thete – is giving him the feeling of restlessness.

Then he hears a soft, calm voice, "The sleeper must relax and believe. Everything in the Colony is good and beautiful. You must accept it without question. You must obey orders. The leaders of the Colony know what is best. In the morning when you wake up you will be given some work. You will be glad to obey. You will question nothing in the Colony."

He sits up and listens, "Ben? Ben?" he whispers as he shakes his friend by the shoulder.

"Huh? What is it?"

"I heard something."

"You're always hearing something," Ben mumbles, "I'm asleep."

"It was evil, Ben - an evil voice. An evil that spoke so gently and yet... yet I almost believed what it said."

"Oh, look, mate. Get some sleep. We got a hard day's work ahead of us tomorrow. We've got to do something to help in the Colony. We can't just eat their nosh without helping out. It won't be too bad to work here."

"You sound just like that voice, Ben. I never heard you talk that way before," Jamie gets up. Ben rolls over and goes back to sleep.

A sickly sweet smell begins to fill the cubical, "You will not resist the sleeping gas. Breathe deeply. In the morning, when you wake, you will obey." Jamie sways as he tries to move to the door. He gets it open just in time to see the Doctor open up Polly's door. He follows him in, noticing that Polly is fast asleep. The Doctor heads right over to the wall above her head and shorts out something causing a small fizzling explosion.

"Wake up, Polly. You've been listening to some very bad advice. I want you to forget everything that you've been dreaming."

She sits up and blinks at him in confusion, "Why do you say that?"

"Well, it's just possible that you've been given a series of orders while you've been asleep. You know, do this, do that, do the other thing. My advice to you is don't do anything of the sort. Don't just be obedient. Always make up your own mind. What am I thinking of? Ben!"

Jamie nods from behind him, "I kept hearing wee voices."

"That's a good sign. That means they haven't been able to get very deeply into your brain." The Doctor passes him as he heads back into the room where Ben is still deep asleep. He shorts out the circuit over Jamie's bed.

Ben wakes up, "Hello, Doctor. Is it morning?"

"No, not yet. Nearly so."

"What are you up to?"

"Well, by my calculations, there should be a thin strand of wire in the wall here, like a nerve tapping the subconscious of the human brain." He searches until he finds the wire. Ben protests. "Better some damage than loss of will power," the Doctor tells him as he shorts the wire.

"What are you on about? Look, get out of it. It's against the law. Don't do that!" Ben says.

Polly stands there gaping at her boyfriend, "What's the matter with you, Ben? Since when did you start to worry?"

"He thinks he knows best all the time, but this time he's wrong." Ben points at the Doctor, "Control knows what's best for us. They want us to cooperate. We should be helping. We should learn to obey. The Doctor's causing trouble. I'm going to turn him in."

"What's the matter with you Ben? This doesn't sound like you at all," Polly looks distraught.

Jamie looks pissed, "You don't know what you're doing, Ben."

"I'm very much afraid I'm too late," the Doctor said with a pout, "No, it's no use, Jamie. Violence will get you nowhere."

Ben rushes out of the room, "Guards!"

"Doctor, he's going to go and tell the guards. We've got to get you out of here," Polly says.

Stunned, Jamie adds, "He betrayed you."

"No, no. Not Ben. He's not in control of his actions. He's been given a series of instructions and he can't help himself."

Ben storms back in with Ola, "That's Him! He prodded about in the wall and smashed up our equipment."

Ola gloats, "This time we've got the evidence, and from one of your own friends. Come on, Doctor."

The Scotsman steps in front of the Doctor, "Leave him alone."

"Out of my way. That's an order."

"I take orders from no one but the Doctor." Jamie says. He feels his Thete put his hand on his shoulder and squeeze. _Thank you, Jamie_.

"All right, you're coming too," Ola says.

He marches them out. They head back to Pilot's office. Once there they are standing in front of Pilot the colony leader says, "You have destroyed three nerve circuits, Doctor. You have burned them out. What have you to say?"

"Rather neat, don't you think? And so simple. I did it with this," He holds up the spare bit that he used to short out the wires.

"You admit it?"

The Doctor rocks on the balls of his feet, "I'm proud of it." Then he looks at the wall behind Pilot and cocks his head, "My dear Pilot, your wall? Even you were subjected to this form of subconscious control?"

"Leave that alone," Pilot orders.

The Doctor ignores him and shorts out the wire, "That's better."

"You will be punished for this."

"The least you can do is to say thank you."

Ola comes into the room, announces that Ben has another report and is told to bring them in. Ben and Polly enter as Ola leaves. Polly is clearly upset.

"Who are you stabbing in the back this time?" Jamie says to Ben.

"Polly? Polly? What's the matter?" The Doctor moves over to her.

"Doctor, it was horrible. A great insect, like... like a crab. It got hold of me. Ben got me free, and he was nearly killed himself." Ben denies having seen the Macra, much to Polly's distress. The Doctor reminds them that Ben is not himself and has come under the control of the evil forces at the heart of the colony. Pilot defends the control and the Doctor and Jamie trick him into showing them the real individual behind the image. He's a frail old man, not even mentally aware enough to speak when given a chance. Because of his poor performance he's dragged away by a large brownish claw. "Doctor, that was it - that thing in the picture! That was the claw! They're in control. Macra! They're in control!" Polly screams.

"Take them out of here. They are condemned to the pits!" The Pilot orders. "Take them away!"

"Come on. Get out, all of you. Out! Get out!" Ola ushers the three strangers out under guard, leaving Ben behind. They are taken to the gas centre, a room off the pits that is part of the gas refinery. Music blares the normal preppy tune, grating in its cheerfulness.

The doctor groans and says, "Dreadful. Did you hear that rhyme? The man who wrote that ought to be sent to the Danger Gang - not us."

Ola tells him to be quiet and takes up the three of them to the plant leader. They discover that their shift leader is an old friend.

Jamie says, "I thought this was a mine. You know, where you dig up coal?"

The plant leader says, "Ah, yes. But here, you see, the rock foundation is a type of salt. Now, at depths it generates gases over the years, and these gases are extremely valuable."

"Aye. Well, you don't send a lassie and an old man down to dig," the Scotsman says. He sees the hurt look on the Doctor's face and sends him a comforting thought along with an apology. _I don't mean it, Thete, I know you are not old._ Then Medok appears, "Medok. How did you get here?

"Huh! They threw me out of the correction hospital. Apparently I'm a hopeless case. This one remaining punishment they could think of - to work in the Danger Gang for life," he says.

"For life?"

Medok shrugs, "Oh, don't worry. You don't survive long in this atmosphere. It's the gas. It gets everywhere. It creeps into your lungs. And when you're down there, you're right in the thick of it." The plant leader makes sounds like he is going to call guards, "We're going. But, we are entitled to a supervisor on this shift. So… Yes. Well, I'm leaving this man." He indicates the Doctor.

The Doctor tries to pass the job to Polly and then Jamie says, "Do you not think you might make better use of the opportunity, Doctor?" Jamie takes the moment to put a hand on the Doctor's arm. The faith he has that Thete can find a solution to the problem from here makes him nod. _Of course, I understand Jamie_.

"Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Yes. I'll be supervisor." Medok makes sure that Polly and Jamie have masks for the work in the pit, The Doctor is given a checklist. The plant leader moves off to his own work, while the Doctor sets to studying the machinery in the room. He's mumbling to himself when he spots Ben. "Hello, Ben. Don't go. Come in. Don't be afraid. It wasn't your fault you betrayed your friends. I warn you, if you spy on the others, watch out Jamie doesn't catch you. He's not so tolerant as I am."

Down in the mine Jamie and Polly end up helping contain a gas strike. The are told that it's a poisonous gas that is being tapped from the bowels of the planet. It kills humans if they breathe and none of the miners know what it's used for.

The Doctor first off figures out the relationship between the various readings on the dials. And even though he's ordered to wipe it off it is fixed in his brain now and he can work on it still from this point without having it in front of him.

Jamie spots a very strong door, and Polly agrees that it is strange. When the plant leader shows up to inspect the work with Ben at his side both of them keep a close eye on him. But the chance to get the keys and check out that door falls right into their laps and Jamie snags it, catching the man as he faints away and lifting his keys. "He's fainted," says Polly as Ben walks over.

"Aye. He must have," Jamie agrees. Medok plugs the leak.

Ben looks at them, "What's the matter? What has happened to him?"

"He's had a wee whiff of the gas."

Ben takes him away from Jamie; "I'll look after him." then he turns his attention to the plant leader, "Yeah. It's all right, mate. Hang on." Ben helps the man off, heading back up to fresh air.

"Do you think he saw you take the keys?" Polly asks.

"Well, if he did, we're in trouble. It just means we'll have to make use of them quick as we can. Let's try that wee door first. Come on." They step over to the new-ish door. Polly plays lookout until Jamie finds the right key. He sets off down the tunnel. Behind him an alarm sounds. Shortly thereafter Medok sets down the path behind him only to find his doom at the claws of a Macra.

The Doctor hears Control banning the guards from going down the Old shaft saying it is forbidden ground. He asks who has escaped. The Plant leader says he doesn't know. After he leaves, Ben walks up and tells the Doctor that the escapee is Jamie and that the Scottish piper lifted the keys. The Doctor takes this as a sign that Ben is starting to throw off the mind control. Ben rushes out to report Jamie. The Doctor returns to his analysis of the gas as Polly joins him.

Jamie meanwhile doubles back and finds Medok dead. Then he finds the cause. There's a Macra right there. But the creature isn't moving… He pitches a rock at it. Nothing After a pause he starts to become less defensive. Then its eyes open…. They stare at each other. Jamie can't help but to send a wave of alarm down the connection he shares with his Thete. He feels mixed concern and a sensation like the Doctor is working on the situation as fast as he can. The Macra slowly moves toward Jamie and he backs away, keeping his distance.

Polly and the Doctor overhear Control ordering the diversion of gas into the old shaft. She points out that Jamie is in there. He asks her what she makes of that. She assumes that they mean to kill Jamie, but he assures her that the gas is too valuable for them to waste it. He suspects that the Old Shaft has another use, and that Jamie opening the door has contaminated the air in there for whatever purpose that might be. And he suspects that there's a queen or egg chamber down that shaft. They are running out of time… The colonists turn on the gas to the tunnel and the Doctor can feel Jamie struggling to breathe. Then the sensation of alarm spikes. The solution is to reverse the flow of the gas and to do it quickly. He has Polly check the dials on the control desk as he moves to tap the pipes of system seven. The station leader comes over to find out what he's doing and to make him stop. The Doctor tells him, "But, uh, I think you're going to run into trouble."

"Why? What's the matter?"

The Doctor looks at him, "Well, according to my calculations, the pressure gauges are wrong.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? Well, that's as may be. But, after all, three times three is nine, and if you divide by half of its own cubic capacity to the formula, Pi over four squared, I think you'll have to agree with me."

"Don't touch that. That's the... That controls the inflow system."

The Doctor gives him a cheerful grin, "Oh. So these are the inflow pipes, are they? That's all I wanted to know." He begins turning taps. "Inflow. Inflow. Outflow. Inflow. High pressure. Low pressure and O-U-T spells out. Confusion is best left to the experts."

"But... Stop it! You've no idea what you're doing."

"Oh, yes I have. I can stand an operation on its head quicker than anyone. There! I think you'll find I've revolutionized the entire gas flow of the Colony. There'll be a fine old gale of fresh air blowing along the old shaft any time now. "

The man leaves to call the guard. The Doctor reveals after the man has left that he's lifted his second set of keys and orders Polly to lock the door in an effort to give Jamie more time. Then they flee into another locked room, fighting to get the doors closed and locked against the incoming guards. Jamie sends him a feeling of relief as he finds an old grating that he uses to escape the old shaft. The Doctor and Polly begin following the pipes to figure out where they lead. After a while Jamie sends him a feeling of being let down and the image of Ben. The Doctor tries to assure him that it's going to work out. They have discovered that the gas is going to keep the Macra alive, and the location of the main control room. They decide to go to Pilot and show him this in person.

The Doctor and Polly walk into Pilot's office interrupting an argument over who is loyal to Control. "Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Well, everyone is up bright and early. And the last two strangers are not missing after all. Oh, come now. You can't have bad temper and differences of opinion in this happy type colony. Say you're sorry, Ola. Say you're sorry, Pilot."

Jamie looks at him, "Doctor, what did ye come here for? You've walked into a trap."

"Good morning, Jamie. Nice to see you so well cared for."

"Yes, but Doctor..." he protests.

"Oh, it's all right. I've just come in to have a word with my old friend, the Pilot. Good morning, Ben. I hope you're feeling more your old self?" Ben answers that yes he is. Then the Doctor tells Pilot that he needs him to come with him right away.

The Macra try to stop Pilot from following, but Polly convinces him to go with the Doctor and see what he needs to show him before deciding what to do. Pilot decides to do just that and orders everyone else to stay there. The Doctor leads him through the gas center and into the pipe room with the pilot telling him that this is forbidden territory. The Macra try to strip Pilot of his power to get him to back away but he follows the Doctor right up to the view port. "There you are. That's what's taken over this colony. You haven't been in touch with Control, but with these. They've used this colony for their own ends, destroying you to live themselves."

"Why they're horrible. No, Doctor. It is they who must be destroyed. We must kill them," says Pilot. They move back to the gas center where Ola is with his guards. "Ola, the Colony is in the hands of grotesque insects! They're in there. The Macra!"

They are ordered to be locked into the pipe room. They are four minutes away from doom. Well the Doctor might last longer… a bit. But same difference in the long run. Gas begins flooding the room. There is a knock on the door. "Hello in there."

"Ben? Is that you? Are you all right?" Ben asks if they can open the door which they can't of course. The Doctor has to chance it. "Ben, listen. We've got very little time. It's all up to you."

"Go ahead Doctor. Tell me what to do."

"Go to the control desk, and you'll see two switches, one marked outflow and one marked inflow. You see a lever in front of them?"

"Yeah."

The Control/Macra starts to pitch a fit, "It is forbidden to touch that instrument! You must not obey the Doctor! You will kill us all! He intends to create an explosion! Come away from those instruments! You will destroy the Colony! Guards! Stop the stranger!"

"Switch on both inflow and outflow. Then stand by to throw the lever." After a few moments he orders, "Throw the lever away from you." Ben does so, causing the pressure in the system to build up and pipes begin to burst and explode.

After their release Jamie gets his wish to repeat the previous experience on a bed. They waste little time with it, and Ben and Polly are to enthralled with each other now that Ben is himself again to notice. In fact it is the other couple's retreat into a sleep cubical that inspires the Doctor to drag Jamie into one. The only major change from the last time besides the bed is that Thete doesn't keep his hands or lips to himself, giving the Scotsman the same treatment he received before. And the sponge bath before... Because, frankly, they both need it. While Jamie is passed out in the afterglow the Doctor finds the lad his kilt. He's sure that Jamie will want it.

They stay for the party. Or at least the beginning of it. Being thanked for saving the place is nice. Watching Jamie dance is nice. The feast is nice. Real music and happiness is nice. Being told that they want him as the next leader – not so nice. They end up dancing themselves right out of the party and then running for the TARDIS.


	5. Interlude

A/N: _This is a detailed side story for my Doctor Who AU 'Verse. It's 'All About' Jamie and the Doctor. How they met, what adventures they had, and finally why they were parted. It's a prequel to __**Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse **__even though I'm writing it now, and mean it to be read in conjunction with __**Doctor Who and the Tangled Web**__. This is meant for those folks with no exposure to the second Doctor. This chapter covers the gap between the serials "The Macra Terror" and "The Faceless Ones". This gap must have been fairly long as Polly has her hair cut short at the colony in the future but when she emerges at the airport her hair is long again… Only one novel has been written in this gap, "The Roundheads". I've not managed to get my paws on it, so I'm referring to the synopsis I've found. Another possible adventure is the short comic, "Freedom by Fire" which has Victoria drawn in the panels but seems to have Polly's character pretty down pat. Um, yeah. I don't have that either, but I will make a reference to it having been something that Ben missed out on. Other references are inferred by looking at adventures the Doctor mentions later as having happened but that lack placement details…  
Inspiration and Titles come from the T.a.t.u song "All About Us" that was used for the video featuring this ship. See __**TARDIS Parking**__ for the links to both Transcripts and video.  
Thanks to Kyer and OtherMeWriter for the lovely reviews. _

Part FourB - interlude

_(You, me, we, us…)_

Fleeing the colony, Ben, Polly, Jamie and the Doctor tumbled back into the TARDIS. Verity greeted her pilot softly, trying another tactic for getting into his favor. She was rewarded with a fond pat on the console. That was progress, at least. The Scottish piper settled onto the floor and – _kissed _– her. _Well, then. Ok._ She might be inclined to become fond of the boy if he keeps that up. The other two humans fled into the interior regions of her halls apparently both in need of something they felt could only be found in each other. She knew that they wanted to go home. Maybe she should let the Doctor know about that damaged circuit? The Time Lord put in some data that made her think twice about getting the circuit fixed, however. Why did he want to go all the way back to the start of the Universe? Wait, was he mumbling about studying the explosion? Oh… he was. That might be interesting. She signaled the broken circuit light at him.

"Now what's this? How long as this been broken?" The Time Lord sets to getting tools and exposing the damage. For Verity this injury is so old that she's learned to cope with it, like a bad tooth. But if she wants to make him need her she'll have to show him she needs him first likely. Jamie gets up and moves over to watch the Doctor remove the panel and carefully lay the injured works out to assess the extent of the damage.

"What's this?" Jamie echoes.

"Well, it looks like part of the controls are damaged, and have been for a very long time. But I think I can repair it, or at least find a solution to the problem." The dark haired fellow settles down on the floor, tools, spare parts, and a growing number of removed items scattered about around him.

Jamie is enthralled with the bits and pieces. Lost completely as to what they are, but fairly sure he could put them back in the correct place, if he had to. Like a puzzle, really. "Can ye use an extra hand?"

"Um, yes. A second set of eyes and help in remembering where things came from is always good. Now, I need to get the damaged circuit out and try to locate a replacement." After a moment he added, "Come down here Jamie and hold this."

"Aye." The piper settled in next to the Time Lord and reached in where he could see that help was needed. "Got it."

Verity sighed as the injured part came out very gently. It was almost as if the Time Lord and his newest human companion were communicating on a level she couldn't detect. Truthfully, she had not paid much attention to the human travelers that the Doctor seemed very fond of. Ian and Barbara hadn't been allowed to even so much as get a look inside her without the Doctor being right there, although Ian had assisted in repairs. Other companions had been trusted even less than Ian had. She knew Ben didn't get to poke around in her innards the way Jamie was being asked to help. She couldn't figure out the why of that though. Jamie was fairly primitive, culture wise, certainly not as familiar with technology as Ben was, and yet the Doctor seemed to prefer the piper's presence.

"Come on, Jamie. I'll show you the Parts Room. Maybe you can help me look for a replacement."

Jamie followed the Doctor into the interior of the TARDIS, bothering to grab a handful of the man's coat as they went. The passages were like a maze, and the last thing Jamie wanted was to get lost inside here. He was shocked that Polly and Ben had just wandered off into this without a look back. How did one manage to find their way around? "Err, Doctor? This is unlike anything I've ever seen," Jamie said.

The little man looked back at the piper, "Now Jamie – there's nothing to be scared of. The inside of the TARDIS is not infinite in size, in spite appearances. And there are systems in here that will keep you from getting too lost, or hungry. The food machine will find you if you neglect eating. There are 12 floors, and a vast number of rooms, but the majority of the used ones are kept near the control room. Just stay with me, lad." He pats Jamie's hand fondly.

"So you'll show me around then?" Jamie transfers his hold from the coat to the sleeved arm.

The Doctor smiled at him, "Of course I will." He continued to pat Jamie's hand. Verity decided to open a passage to the room he was looking for as they came around the corner, making a staircase and a funny sign that read 'Up and Over, Parts of Me here'. The Time Lord spotted the sign and laughed. "Oh, look, I do think this is a shortcut."

"Why?"

"Well, the sign, of course."

The Scotsman looked at the sign and shook his head, "Covered with squiggles. What does it say?"

"Jamie, were you not taught to read?"

"Nay. Pipers tell oral history, playing alongside bards who sing the stories of the past. Few Highlanders read. What does it say?"

"Oh – 'Up and Over, Parts of Me here' actually. Would you like to learn to read?" Jamie smiled and nodded. "Well then, I'll teach you." He offered the lad his arm again in a friendly fashion and they started up the steps. "I've got a music room here someplace that we can use for those bagpipe lessons." The pair of them reached the storeroom with the spare parts shortly. Jamie is amazed at the size and variations of all the bits and bobs here, stored in row after row of bins. The Doctor and he set off through the various pieces, burnt out circuit in hand.

"It might take days to find what we're searching for, Doctor," Jamie exclaims.

"Yes it very well might Jamie. But that is all right. The TARDIS is not heading anywhere quickly at the moment and this part needs to be replaced. I just hope there's a spare one. If not I'll have to try to make it myself and I'm a bit rusty with the math involved."

"Eh, Math?"

The Doctor looked at the lad, "Math. Um. You know how music has a tempo, a beat, a--"

"Aye, Doctor. I do."

"Well – so does matter. It's all a point of knowing the right numbers. Haven't you ever seen the proper note break glass?"

"Not that I can remember. But, I suppose it is possible."

Jamie gives the Doctor an amused expression; the Time Lord returns it, "Everything in the Universe has its secrets, my boy, and all those secrets can be boiled down to the numbers that define the specifics. If you know those numbers you can create anything you desire, music, happiness, this part even. But there's no point in reinventing the wheel if I've got it in storage already."

Jamie happily followed the dark haired man through the shelves, noting the changing symbols on the edges of the bins. He supposed that if he could read this would go faster, but then he didn't even know what the name of the part was, so maybe not. It didn't matter much, as long as he was with the Doctor, nothing really did matter. Although it would be nice to hold his hand, "So, this part does what?"

"It helps read the coordinates I input. Otherwise I have to rely on telepathic commands and – I don't use them much."

"Aye, because you don't trust your own ship. There's not a hostile thought in her, Doctor. All she wants is to help you get to where you wanna go."

The Doctor frowns, "Jamie--"

Jamie shook his head, "I don't need the excuses, so save 'em. I'm just telling you what I feel; knowing that she feels the same. Maybe you don't sense the extreme gratitude and love this ship feels for you, but I do. It's not just my own thoughts projected onto her either. Someday you're gonna wake up an realize this for yourself."

Taking a deep breath, the Time Lord says, "I suppose so." Jamie doesn't realize how much thought each prompt touches off. It's not that he can't remember what his relationship with the TARDIS was like before he became ill that one time, how blissful and close to perfection it seemed. He does remember. And he knows that the ship guided this regeneration with goal reestablishing that closeness in mind. His psychic powers are much greater than his last body was ever capable of and being that close to the somewhat alien five-dimensional mindset of the TARDIS scared him a bit. He's not sure if he could endure it, unless he can teach his ship to speak softly again. She's been shouting at him for so long that she's forgotten was a normal volume is. Or he's just that much more sensitive than he was before. He spots the part he's after, "Ah, here we go." The Doctor pulled the part out and looked at it, carefully comparing it to the one in his hand already, "Perfect." He turned and started out, putting the ruined one into a pocket. After a step or two he said, "You know, it does bare giving some thought to, this accepting of the ship. But do you really want to share me, Jamie?" The piper shrugged. He hadn't thought about that. After a second he reached out and caught the Doctor's hand, but he kept his thoughts and worries to himself.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie helped the Doctor fix the console by giving him the correct pieces as it was reassembled. It was absolutely wonderful to feel like he could help, like he'd done something Ben couldn't top. And the ship filled him with warm gratitude at the easing of her pain. Now if he could just find a way to fix his own broken parts, ease his own emotional pain, things might be fine. The feeling of contentment washed out the hyper sensation of running on full without stop that he'd been living on, leaving him yawning. He can deny all he wants with his mouth, but clearly his body needs sleep.

This was, now that he thought about it, the first time he'd gotten sleepy while inside the Doctor's ship. And furthermore, he had no place to sleep. The Doctor gave him a bit of a tour. Jamie was shown where the living areas were, the entertainment centers, food room, bedrooms, most of which were rather like bunk houses for many people, a library, the bathing room, the wardrobe room, and half a dozen other rooms that were identified as labs, medical, science, workrooms and the like. The TARDIS looked like it could house thousands of people. Jamie was sure he would forget the lot of it and look the fool within moments. The Doctor noted his yawns and steered him back to the beds. "Stay with me?" the piper asked.

Tapping his head, "I'm always with you," the Doctor told him. "Just a thought away."

"But will you – stay here, with me?"

The Doctor held the lad's hand, "Always, Jamie." And he watched the Scotsman fall asleep, standing like a silent guardian over the piper's dreams, chasing away the nightmares. He didn't dare let the telepathic time ship into the open thoughts that Jamie shared with him. How shaken the lad felt when he thought the Doctor was dead, nor how scared the boy had become when he thought that he himself was close to death and going to leave the Doctor behind. There was no way he could take Jamie home, unless he wanted to settle down with the lad… but maybe, maybe they could? It would be a matter of finding a time and place that might accept the relationship, one that his own people would not think to look in. Ancient Rome maybe? The fifty-first century? Both might work. But which would make Jamie feel more at ease? Could he do that? Could he stop traveling for a while, stay out of trouble, make a spot of time for he and Jamie?

Now, why does he even want to do such a thing? He pushes the thoughts aside. Jamie came with him to see the Universe, not to be smothered and babied. The lad wants to live as intensely as possible, to see as much as he can see. The Doctor sits down on the edge of the bed and Jamie curls onto his side, tucking his body around the Doctor's, nearly trying to crawl into his lap. But the thoughts won't leave him alone. What he wants, right now, is what he gave Susan… a chance to live, for just a little while, with someone he cares for. The hollow spot inside him made when he pushed his granddaughter out aches still. But it was the right thing to do, right for her, he knows. And now he's falling into that same emotion. He strokes his hand through Jamie's thick wavy hair. Falling? No. Has fallen, is ensnared by… Now what can he do? If his people find out his punishment will be so much worse, so much more cruel for the fact that he (_does he dare even think it_?) -- loves -- this wonderful human.

He forces his face blank, the emotions back behind a wall before he's tempted to vent them. But he can't stop the trembling in his hand as he cards his fingers through Jamie's hair, and he can't completely blink the tears back as the possible futures flash before his eyes. It's a curse, sometimes, seeing all of time and knowing what the future might bring. But he's not sure that he can push the lad away, even if it would be safer for them both. Ah well. He's never lived his life by the rules. He's going to make Jamie happy, whatever it takes.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Verity felt more relief about that control repair than she ever thought she could. It was amazing how much better she felt just with that little fix. She carefully plots her path as close to the Event 0 as she dared and slipped into temporal orbit, keeping herself poised right at the very cusp of the moment until the Doctor returns. She's surprised that he spends the entire rest period with the lone human male while the other two engage in whatever physical acts they feel driven to consummate. There's something about this point, right at the beginning that seems familiar to her, like returning to someplace she'd been before even though she knows she never has been. Odd that. Could it mean something? She is still pondering this when the little rumpled form of her dark haired pilot wanders in to the main control room with a cup of tea, the piper behind him looking refreshed and dressed in a new kilt that she'd made for him. She let a curl of greeting flow and received another friendly pat. This is an improvement over being slammed out of his mind on a constant basis.

"Let's see where we are, shall we, Jamie?"

The soft faced young man finished the food he was eating and wiped his fingers on his kerchief, "Aye."

"Oh, look at this, I wanted to show you something wondrous." The Time Lord waves Jamie over to the scanner. "We're back to the beginning of the Universe, or as close as we can safely get."

"An' she did that for you. Don't you see what she's tryin' to do?"

"I do, Jamie. I promise that I'll – come to some accord with her, meet her halfway, so to speak. All right?"

Jamie curled an arm over the Doctor's shoulders, "So tell me what you want to show me, aye?"

Verity felt the Time Lord slowly drop his mental shields and think to her, _Quietly now, no need to shout. How about we do this in fast forward, so Jamie can see the formation of the early universe. We can record all the data for study later_. She whispers an affirmative, thrilled with the suggestion. It wasn't often that she was given permission to stretch her abilities like this. The Doctor smiled, "The creation of everything, in fast forward, all but the first few seconds of it. This is one of the most awesome sights of all. I've very pleased to be able to show you this." Jamie nodded, not overly sure that he was going to get anything out of the experience, but he'd try for his Thete's sake if nothing else. The Doctor was trying to make up for something, he figured. Maybe for missing Mars? Too bad Ben and Polly were still occupied behind that locked door. For once the Doctor got to where he wanted to go, and they are missing it. And then… this was sorta nice, having something like this done completely for him.

Jamie was enthralled with what he witnessed. It was beautiful. And best of all it had been recorded… The Doctor told him that there was an even better place to experience Event 0, the Infinity Chamber. They can witness all sides of the Big Bang all around them from that chamber and look at any part they want in detail. Verity is eager to lead them there, too. Jamie is enthusiastic to experience it for himself. He might not understand all of it, but it is beautiful. And he loves everything the Doctor shows him. There's only one thing that would make this better, being able to express how he feels without wondering if he's going to get the Doctor into trouble somehow.

The chamber that they enter has a smaller version of the control console in it, ringed with supporting rails. This sits near the door. The walls and roof give the impression of a huge dome. Spiraling from the floor near the console is a sturdy staircase, openwork metal in a dark color. The Doctor leads Jamie over to the platform that the console sits on and ushers him inside the rails. As the lights dim, Jamie figures out the reason for this. The walls and floor, aside from the platform, seems to fade away the black sky replacing it. He feels breathless with awe, "Doctor!"

"It's ok Jamie. The wall and floor are still there. This is a hologram. It's a multi-dimensional projection of what is outside the ship." The Time Lord caught the lad's arm. "I know it is easy to lose your bearings here, but trust me, up is still up and down is still down. Feel the gravity? The force holding your feet to the floor. That still exists here."

Jamie laughs, " 'Tis beautiful! Oh, this is just… All of God's creation, all around us. It makes me feel so small." He curled his arm around his Thete. "Thank ye."

The Doctor comes very close to kissing the piper, right then. The look of joy on the lad's face takes his breath away. He settled for a return of the one armed hug, and they set about checking out various features. Jamie eagerly helps him select things to look at.

Verity rejoices in the openness of her pilot's mind. She can sense that there's still a wall there, but it seems to have very little behind it so she ignores its existence and accepts what is being offered. It doesn't take her long to settle into an easy contact, very light but contact all the same, with him. The three of them spend a quite a long time looking at the features in space. She thrums with delight, sensing an echo within her Time Lord pilot that reminds her of his youth. He's very happy. Now if she could just figure out how to keep him that way…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor has shown Jamie the food machine, just so the lad knows where it is and what it produces, before announcing to Ben and Polly that he thinks a spot of lunch, real food, might be in order. Ben begs off saying that he still needs to rest. He heads back to the bedrooms to sleep some more. It's pretty clear that he's not been doing much sleeping. Polly shakes her head. She really would like a nice lunch, if the Doctor can get them someplace for it. Now, they have been all right health wise as things go, so Verity is not too worried about that. She figures that what they need is someplace nice and alive. She begins scanning -- _look there, that's not right… That species doesn't belong on that world_.

So while the Doctor suggests that Polly put on some period clothing, as he intends to land them in Victorian England, Verity fudges the information to take them where she knows they need to go to correct this error in time. Opening the door to reveal the jungle prompts Polly to state that this is not Victorian England. The Doctor agrees with her but says that the ship needs twelve minutes before it can take off again, so they might as well scout a bit and see if there is anything interesting to see.

She and Jamie both agree with him on this and they set off for a bit of a walk. There is no denying that the jungle is beautiful. The animals are nearly tame and unafraid of them. The plants are unspoiled. It would seem that this is like a paradise. Quite quickly though the situation changes and some of the plants attack them. It's quite a close call but the local group of humanoids rescues them before the vicious plant based predators consume them. The Doctor can feel that the attacking vegetation is not from this world.

The native humanoids take them back to their village and make sure they are unharmed. They are offered food and drink, meager as it might be. The village is constructed out of native materials, without running water or electricity because these people have yet to discover either one. The offered food is raw, local fruits and nuts. The Doctor inquires as to why, with all the bounty of the jungle around them, they are experiencing a food shortage. The natives blame the man-eating plant based invaders that they identify as "Kraals". They used to be farmers, but since the asteroid shower at the end of the last harvest they have been forced away from their fields. They have been reduced to a gatherer state because they cannot plant their crops due to the Kraals attacking them.

Then the Doctor asks how the cook their food and discovers that they don't. It never becomes cold here, either. After a thought he tells them that he might have a way to assist them in driving the Kraals away. Between he and Jamie they manage to make a fire and light a stick to act as a torch. This fascinates the vegetarians. The Time Lord tells them this is fire, a natural process, that will turn wood into ash, and that ash can be used to keep the fields producing good yields. He suspects that the Kraals will stay away from fire, so it should provide them with a weapon against the aggressive plants. While he wants to test this out, the afternoon rain makes it impossible to do so. He'll have to wait until morning.

As night falls, the three visitors are taken to the empty shaman's hut. They are told that they can sleep there, as the Kraals killed the village shaman. The Doctor constructs a sheltered fire pit and makes sure that they have enough downed wood to keep the fire burning all night. Polly settles into the little alcove area with it's sleeping mat, leaving the main chamber to Jamie and the Doctor.

The Scotsman sits next to the rumbled man, who is tending the fire, "I wanna thank you again for showing me that magical sight. I was a bit unsure at first, but I really enjoyed it." The Doctor glances at him slightly sideways, eyes twinkling and a slightly goofy smile gracing his expressive face. Jamie looks at him, glances around to note that all the natives are inside their various huts, and leans over to plant a long sensual kiss on his Thete's lips. _I do mean it. Seeing the creation of the universe is something that few can claim_.

"I know you mean it, Jamie." The sparks were still fading from the contact, and there was nothing that he would rather do than give the lad whatever he asked for. He placed another log onto the fire and got to his feet. Offering his hand he said, "Let's settle for the night."

Smirking, Jamie took the Doctor's hand and tugged him down into his own lap, "In a bit. It's early still. Twilight behind the clouds. I'm thinking this is much better." Thete gracefully accepted the position, letting Jamie hold him as the piper wanted to. "The fire is too nice to waste, an' one of us is going to have to stay up with it." He placed kisses on the cool skin of the Time Lord's neck. Thete relaxed and closed his eyes. The piper's hands, smooth from his endless hours of playing the pipes and his youth found their way under the layers of jacket, shirt, and tee to bare cool skin. The sensation of sparkles rippled over the mental connection from the touch and Jamie closed his eyes too, just to focus on the skin under his fingers, the unique pulse fluttering through it, and the slow even breathing. The gently strengthening emotion he is sensing makes him feel humbled and very warm, but quite like he belongs.

There's a light touch on his face, a tremor in the fingers. Jamie turns his head and kisses the Doctor's palm, sending back his own feelings. The sound he hears is musical, but something he knows he'll never be able to reproduce. He opens his eyes to find Thete staring at him intently. He starts to open his lips and finds a finger over them. "Do you want me, Jamie? Right now?" The Scotsman nods, because he can't imagine a time when he won't want his Thete. "Don't be frightened," the Time Lord says, "I am going to give you what you want, for as long as you want it, for as long as I can manage." With that Jamie finds himself being kissed, and the flickering dancing light from the flames freeze. The entire world seems to stop.

Instead of fear Jamie just accepts this and opens his entire soul to his Thete. He forgets everything else, until he's sated his need to be totally one with this wonderful being. They are inside when time begins to flow again, the only major clue to their activities being their nudity. The Doctor sleeps with him for a few hours to recover from his exertion and then goes out to check the fire. He adds more wood to the pit, completely at ease with himself. He's still there at the dawn, when Polly pokes her head out and squeaks. "Oh, I'm sorry, Doctor!" she pulls back in and tries to hide her blush. It's more at the clearly fading but intensely colored feature on his collarbone than anything else. Only one person could have made that mark. No wonder Jamie's been so staunch in his loyalty and support of the Doctor.

"No, no. Polly, the fault is mine. The night was so mild I – well, give me a moment and I'll dress."

She laughs. "Some liberal chic I am. I shouldn't be embarrassed by a little skin."

"And I suppose Jamie will cause the same reaction then."

Polly glances over at the sleeping piper and notices that he's using his kilt as a blanket. He's more exposed than not, but she can't see anything that should embarrass her. Except for the rather telling little bites she can see that are fading on Jamie's skin. She blushes again, "It shouldn't but…" she steps back into the alcove. "Tell me when it's safe."

After a moment she hears him say, "Well, I'm safe, at least. Come on out to the patio, Polly."

She wanders out and discovers that someone has left them a gift of exotic fruits, nuts, and other apparently edible plants. The Doctor is carefully peeling one of the tuber-like items. "These people are vegetarian, clearly." Polly picks up a fruit, "I sure have broadened my horizons traveling with you, Doctor." She sits down and looks at him. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but how did you manage to not alert the entire village about your activities last night?"

"We – didn't bother you did we?"

She looked at him, "No, I didn't suspect a thing until I caught a glimpse of Jami—err. How did you manage to not wake me?" The Doctor gives her a slight smile. He's not bashful about this she notes, more like he finds her reactions amusing. Laughing, she replies, "Oh. You were trying to keep it secret, were you?" She shakes her head, "Doctor. I'm a liberal gal. Whatever floats your boat is fine with me. If he makes you happy I don't care what you do."

"If everyone were as tolerant, the universe would be a much better place, young lady. Unfortunately they are not."

"Well, surely you can do what you want inside your ship--"

He cuts her off, "No, no I can't Polly. I must be more careful there than elsewhere. Jamie knows this."

"Because – where you are from they are not tolerant?" The Time Lord nods, his face downcast. "I'm sorry. I just assumed that things became more liberal as time went on, not less."

He waved off the apology. "I need to help these people drive off the Kraal, and then we need to get as far away from here as possible." He finishes what he was eating and lights another thick stick of wood from the fire.

"One torch isn't going to do it, Doctor."

"Quite right Polly. I'll have to make sure that others can make fire as well as keep this one burning. But first I need to test my theory and see if fire will drive the Kraal away."

"Can I help in any way?"

"Why don't you show the villagers what type of wood burns well so that they can gather more." She nods and finishes her meal. He sets off into the morning jungle toward the farm plots knowing that the Kraal will show up there. Once they do, he brandishes the torch at them and they shrink back from the flame. Satisfied with the results he returns to the village to find that Jamie is already teaching several of the young men and women of the tribe how to make fire with the tools they have access to. Polly is showing several others how to build fire rings. Once both groups demonstrate understanding and success he gathers the villagers together and tells them, "Fire is a tool, and used improperly can do great harm. However it can also protect you and your farms from the Kraal. If everyone will make a torch we'll go drive the Kraals away from here." The villagers quickly set to work and by mid-day they have driven the Kraals away and proved that they can defend their farm plots. That done the Doctor, Polly, and Jamie are escorted back to their 'hut' and the natives return to their village.

Polly and Ben greet each other warmly and she offers him some of the fruit that she saved. Ben looks at Jamie and offers his hand, "Thanks, mate."

The Scottish piper looks at the sailor, "For what?"

"For everything. I know you don't trust me anymore, but I swear it will never happen again. Next time to try to warm me about something I will listen."

Jamie shakes his hand, "Aye, you better."

The Doctor pauses after he's gotten them into the Vortex, "I hope I did the correct thing there." Jamie and Polly both move over to him and try to reassure him that he's done well. "So how about we go someplace warm?"

"Like where?" Polly asks.

"Maybe Egypt? Or Greece? I happen to know how to acquire a villa in Rome. We could try to make it to there."

"You plan on attempting to steer this thing again?" Ben teased.

"Well, I made a repair while you and Polly were resting and I would like to test it out," the Doctor explained. "I rather suspect that the TARDIS was going where it wanted to go because of some old damage. Really, if I'm to ever get you home I need several months of no traveling so I can make repairs. And some of the things that need fixing I can't do in flight."

"I think Greece would swell. I always wanted to go there and look at the ruins, going there and seeing the civilization would be even better, as long as we manage to land in a peaceful time period," Polly says. "What about you Jamie?"

The Scotsman shrugged, "I don't know. An' I suppose it doesn't really matter."

"Well, I have a suggestion. Lets go to the library and look at the different options," the Doctor led them out into the hall and through the twisting passages until reaching the library. On the route they see the pavilion and the Doctor mentions that there's a third control room near the library. Once there they spent a great deal of time looking at different aspects of the various societies. They concluded, in the end, that Greece was the way to go. Only the TARDIS decided that 1648 London, very late November was a better time and place. Reading that information on the controls the Doctor heads back into the ship again, Jamie in tow. As they walk Verity detects what her pilot is looking for and creates a shortcut to it. The room is dimly lit and richly decorated, like a young Victorian child's room. There are scattered alphabet building blocks scattered over a richly colored floor rug of Turkish origin, beside a large chest of assorted wooden blocks besides. The open shelves have an assortment of toys on them ranging from wind up cars to sets of tin soldiers and from beautiful porcelain dolls in bountiful period clothing to toddler toys. Over in the far corner was a rocking horse. And the bookshelf was filled with children's books. Sitting on a table next to a hurricane lamp is the book that the Doctor wanted, _Every Boy's Book of the English Civil Wars_. He picks it up and another door appears in the far wall. This door leads back to the control room.

At least the Doctor thought to head back and pluck up a book about the era before they stepped out into it. He's far more concerned that Jamie feel like he's an equal than he is about revealing too much about the past or local future to him. So he shoos Ben and Polly out with a warning to not get into trouble and he goes over the events of this time period with Jamie. His intention is to make this a short detour, but then there's festive happenings going on to celebrate the season and Jamie's face lights up at that. The Doctor buys a fruitcake to share with the lad as they enjoy the atmosphere.

Even the best of goals, enjoying local Christmas festivities, goes askew. Jamie is spotted as the Scot he is and arrested on the way back to the TARDIS. Only very fast thinking keeps them both from torture or the gallows. But the already messed up situation becomes even more so because of the act that he and Jamie pull off. It's being held in prison that lets them meet up with Polly, but she hasn't seen Ben for a week at that point. They ended up spending an embarrassing amount of time locked in a prison cell trying to figure out how to get out, and Ben finally is the one that convinces Cromwell's people that they can and will help them. It took them nearly a month and a half to set time back on the correct path and by then everyone was eager to not have an adventure for a while. It was rather a miserable way to spend the holidays, trying to find one another, avoid being killed, and setting King Charles back on course for his due fate.

The crew then finally manages to make it back to the Doctor's ship. He asks, no, more like he _begs_, Verity to take them someplace where they won't end up in world changing events for once. Still trying for Greece, the Doctor gets them back into the Vortex. He's not rushed this time. He even opens his mind and lets her see how difficult the last situation was for him to deal with. She can see that his plans include spending plenty of time looking for things that need to be repaired, if only she'll give him the quiet he's asking for. Verity can see though that he wants to go to Alexandra, if only because he has never been there and that he knows Ben and Polly will find it interesting. The port town is safer than most places because of all the intellectuals that gather there. She decides that it technically is 'Greece' and diverts there, to a time of relative quiet, 38 BC. As long as the Doctor doesn't intend to stay for more than three years then things should stay quiet. History has not been interrupted and the city of Alexandra is stable and well off.

Of course the garb here is not Greek but Egyptian. The Doctor explains to Ben and Polly that he should be able to figure out why the TARDIS is not taking them to the programmed coordinates with the time to devote to the work. He creates the proper coins and makes sure they are all dressed in the proper clothes before setting out to rent them a suitable townhouse. Polly looks at Ben, "He's getting closer. I mean… We are in a Greek time period of Egyptian history, after all."

Ben grins, "Right you are Duchess." He has to admit that she looks fetching in the period clothes, which are as revealing as modern slinky dresses. Polly, to her credit, is determined to enjoy the freedom this gives her, besides she's proud of her body and there's no reason that Ben can't see it. She knows, secretly, that Jamie has eyes for the Doctor and the Doctor alone. There are no problems with that. And Ben might get a bit jealous when Jamie compliments her by saying that she looks very nice in the Egyptian clothing and makeup but maybe it serves him right.

She thinks that Jamie looks very nice too, and so does Ben. The Doctor was a surprise, as she never would have thought he'd defer to local customs, but he seems to respect Alexandra and wants to blend in here, going so far as to display knowledge about social status and proper accessories to display it without needing to reference a book. Clearly he's wanted to come here. And he pulls off the look with a natural grace that really shouldn't surprise her.

The Doctor returns fairly quickly and ushers them out of the TARDIS, "I've rented a cart and labor to transport my 'chest', and they will be here soon. Put on your sandals, or you'll burn you feet on the hot road. My, you look fetching, Polly." She smiles. "I've told the landlord that you are my family and married so we don't have to worry about explaining why a young couple is single. Polly's status is more of a concern here then ours and I don't want to risk being shackled into marrying her off. I hope that is all right."

Polly circles her arm with Ben, "Yes."

The cart shows up presently and the workers lift his blue chest up onto it. The Doctor tells them to be careful as he's got many scrolls inside. Even the laborers seem to respect the educated here. Then again, the Doctor is generous with his coin and has befriended them through his charm. The acquired townhouse is three stories tall and possesses a stately whitewashed wall. The gate, set into a stone lined archway, is wide enough for the cart to easily enter, and the tunnel is clearly a room deep. The Doctor explains that the owner is being dispatched to Rome and won't return for at least two years and so they have rented this dwelling in the interim. Should they need to leave before the rent expires then they can arrange to sub-let through the same landlord and get back some of the gold paid. Ben's not too sure about the extended time frame that he's hearing, but then he spots the shady garden that occupies the inner courtyard with it's two pools, one for fish and one for swimming and pretty much forgets most of his objections.

The workers settle the Doctor's chest into the room he indicates on the third floor, accessed by wide ramps and he pays them an extra tip. They tell him that anything more he needs to just send a runner and they will come.

The windowless lower floor is mostly designed for servants and workers or running a business. The Doctor tells Ben and Polly that if they desire they may use this area for whatever amuses them. The second floor has much higher ceilings, small shutter covered windows, and a spacious open floor plan, with the walls having many arched openings and pillars supporting the floor above. This is the living area, designed for parties, feasts, and social gatherings. The third floor is made up of smaller individual rooms, office, study, library and bedchambers, although the roof is designed for living as well. The place has two kitchens; one on the opposite side of the garden in a three-sided lean to like room and the other built on the roof. The Doctor explains that one is for summer and the other is for winter.

The private well is an open affair that has steps leading down for when the water table is low. The Doctor quickly sets up a crank wheel and draw system to give them access to a primitive form of running water. This makes both the gardening and other water dependant chores easier. Jamie is used to the lack of plumbing, so he finds Ben and Polly being put off by that amusing. Off the courtyard were areas for keeping fowl, storing grain, brewing, stables and a small yard for livestock, and a shrine. Servant's rooms were under the main hall.

The floors throughout are laid with mosaic tiles, while the mud and timber walls are plastered and painted with light colors and decorative boarders. There's even a bathroom with a toilet. The bathroom has a stone slab floor, and one corner is lined with stone to protect the brick from the water. With a bit of fiddling the Doctor manages to construct a water screw and a line that will deliver cool water to the bathing area. They'll have to crank a handle but at least it saves them from hauling buckets in to toss on each other. The house has a drain system that flows into the city's sewage system. The toilet is a smooth limestone seat.

The very thick walls blocked the majority of noise from the street and the tunnel served to dim that sound when one was in the garden proper. There were a wide variety of plants being grown; dates and other palms provided even the roof with shade. Figs, pomegranates, plums, apricots, peaches, loquats, cherries, nectarines, mangoes, sycamore figs, mimusops, carob, and mulberry rounded out the trees grown. Grapes, various melons of the watermelon and the muskmelon types, the shrublike jujube, and the local balanite tree formed a backdrop for smaller plants. These included onions, garlic, leeks, beets, cabbages, lettuces, a wide variety of beans and peas, radishes, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, endive, lotus, papyrus, and various native greens. In addition to the food baring plants were various herbs and decorative flowers.

The Doctor suggested that if they wanted eggs they could purchase some geese or they might luck out and find chickens, although those were rare. For meat they might want to try raising rabbits, ducks, or pigeons. And if they wanted milk he suggested a goat. But this detail he'd leave to them. They could even stock the fishpond with edible species, if they wanted.

All this thrilled Jamie, being as he was used to having this sort of thing in Scotland, although with sheep, more than goats. They easily spent a week shopping the markets and selecting things they wanted. Most folks drank beer and the Doctor showed them how they could brew their own. They could even raise bees if they wanted and produce mead. But aside from making suggestions, the Time Lord didn't dictate how they should handle dealing with extra produce. There were always farmers coming in to Alexandra with grain that would trade for dried fruit, dried meats, cheeses and beer that wasn't as likely to spoil. Because the climate was so hot that was a constant issue. Ben and Jamie made sure that they broached anything they wanted to try with the Doctor to make sure it wouldn't screw up history.

The Doctor spent his time either working on the TARDIS, doing scribe work, visiting the library, learning to play pipes, teaching Jamie how to read the languages that they were surrounded by, or simply enjoying the ease of life. After one encounter he came home with another gentleman, whom they discovered was one of the royal guards. He befriended them all and quickly decided that he'd teach them how to wield a blade if they would teach him how they brewed their beer. Since both learning to fight with a blade and successfully brewing beer were a rather lengthy process this rather locked them into staying at least a year. The fellow was also intrigued by the water setup and the Doctor showed him how it was constructed. Because he used local items it all seemed perfectly reasonable.

Jamie had never been happier. Although he was worried about what Ben would think, the Doctor encouraged Jamie to be open with his feelings and returned them easily. And while Ben was slightly put off at first, Polly told him exactly what she thought about his attitude and the sailor quickly got past the problem. Summer faded into fall then fall into winter, and life was good.

The TARDIS console had been opened up and the Doctor was painstakingly checking every connection and every wire, replacing what he could and rerouting what he couldn't. Jamie spent more time helping him work in the ship then anyone realized. Verity was so used to the easy non-verbal communication that happened between the pair that she saw it as normal. And her pilot was gradually opening up to her more and more. She found that she needed this total, painstakingly complete, lavish attention. She noticed that the Doctor never tried to change her systems to give him more control, but rather focused on easing her long-term aches and pains.

Winter eased into spring and Jamie wondered out loud if some of the garden plants from their courtyard would survive in the TARDIS. Verity, still not back together but feeling very, very good, led him to an empty garden chamber and soon he'd started rescuing spare plants being weeded out of the garden beds and transplanting them into this new oasis. Verity looked into the minds of the other two humans to see what the favorite features were and begin adding copies to the room. She'd made the rose garden for the Doctor after all; there was no reason to not make a memento of this place for Ben, Polly, and Jamie. And maybe after the humans were gone this garden would provide her pilot with something to remember them by.

Spring gave way to summer again. They'd been here a year. Polly and Ben had both made acquaintances but had been careful to make sure they knew that their time in Alexandra was limited and that the next place they might go to would be very, very far away. The Doctor's work on Verity continued at the same intense pace, although there was no sense of him rushing, rather he's being quite careful still. Jamie has become quite proficient in reading Gallifreyan even though he'll never be able to speak it. The Doctor can send him to get parts now and he can find them quickly. Jamie's learned to read Greek, Latin, and Egyptian too, although not as proficiently. His mind easily switches the unknown characters to the Doctor's language for him though, so he can bluff his way through in a pinch.

By the time the TARDIS is repaired as well as the Doctor can do without special tools, they've enjoyed the life in Alexandra for twenty-three months. The Doctor is eager to get out there into space again. His relationship with Jamie has become a source of strength for him, and although the physical side of it continues to be intense and welcome, the mental side of it has become the replacement for his family, finally filling the gap in his soul caused by his exile from his House. Ben and Polly likewise are ready to explore some more or go home. And Jamie, while sad to leave this place behind, has managed to create a garden-farm to provide fresh food inside the TARDIS. Wherever the Doctor is, is home for him. As long as they have each other, he'll be happy.


	6. Cause ya know, It's all about us

A/N: _This is a detailed side story for my Doctor Who AU 'Verse. It's 'All About' Jamie and the Doctor. How they met, what adventures they had, and finally why they were parted. It's a prequel to __**Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse **__even though I'm writing it now, and mean it to be read in conjunction with __**Doctor Who and the Tangled Web**__. This is meant for those folks with no exposure to the second Doctor. This chapter covers the serial "The Faceless Ones". Scenes that don't have either the Doctor or Jamie directly involved will not be included. Transcripts of the episodes are used as reference for dialogue, along with photonovels where the BBC has lost / destroyed them. Inspiration and Titles come from the T.a.t.u song "All About Us" that was used for the video featuring this ship. See __**TARDIS Parking**__ or my profile for the links to both Transcripts and video.  
I want to thank OtherMeWriter, Kyer, and Laura Harkness for the lovely and kind words. You all make my day._

Part Five

_'Cause ya know, It's all about us_

The Doctor remembers, to the day, when he picked up Ben and Polly. He knows they have reason to want to go home. More an urgent reason he could have never anticipated, actually. So, having fixed the TARDIS during their time in Alexandra, he makes a deal with her. He'll re-accept the imprint, even allow the deeper bond she is asking for, once Ben and Polly are back in London, on the specific date of July 20th, 1966. All he asks her for is their safe return to their own day and age. Verity is stunned. But she can't resist the offer and takes them to London, on the specific date that is being asked for.

Of course, London is a big place. There are lots of things going on there. And… _what the heck is this_? Verity doesn't pay much attention to where she lands after that little shock. The Doctor must stop this. If he doesn't then there will be horrible changes to the future because of it. The feeling of urgency prompts Jamie to dash out onto the asphalt runway where a very large plane was making an attempt to land. The Doctor darts out after him and Jamie grabs him; "It's a flying beastie!"

This is not safe. Behind him Ben and Polly emerge as the Doctor moves to drag Jamie to a less dangerous location. The other two dash after the little rumpled man and the lad in the kilt, just as the pilot manages to pull up and into the air again, missing them and curtailing impending crash. As the TARDIS crew runs, a policeman spots them, "Hey, you! Stop!"

Now, it might not be the wisest of things but the Doctor is not certain that they have reached what and where it appears to be so he orders, "Scatter!" Polly goes one way, Ben another. Jamie and the Doctor take off in parallel paths. The policeman decides that Ben is the easiest to catch and gives chase. They manage to evade capture, even though they lose Ben and Polly. The airport security moves the strange police box off the runway. At least Jamie and the Doctor manage to stick together. The situation quickly escalates with many more policemen joining in the search for them. They duck behind separate wheels of an airliner waiting on a runway. Waiting until it is safe to move the Doctor calls, "Jamie, come over here with me. Come on." The Scotsman also is keeping his eyes on the moving men in black, on their two wheeled devices and with their foot patrols. He times his move to be unseen and reaches the Doctor. His hands settle on the man's back and the Doctor sighs from the renewed contact.

After a time it appears that most of the patrols have moved to another area and the Time Lord and piper cautiously step out from their hiding place. They have been too alert to the danger to even think about doing more than clutching hands. It doesn't seem safe. The dart to the closest building, keeping out of sight of the police that occasionally still passes the section of the airfield, although at a distance. This area is quieter. Jamie spots Polly as she carefully rounds the corner of a different building; "There's Polly!"

"Polly! Over here!" The Doctor calls to her and she quickly rejoins them.

She's distraught however, "Doctor, I... I've just seen a man killed."

Jamie glances up, thinking that the metal things in the air are the worse threat, "By one of the beasties?"

The young blonde woman doesn't know if she should laugh or cry. She shakes her head, "No, no. He was murdered by another man."

"Get your breath, Polly, and tell us exactly what happened," at least she can tell that the Doctor not only believes her but is taking this more seriously than anyone else might. He settles a calming hand on her shoulder and waits for her to gather her wits.

"Well, I went into the hangar, to get away from a policeman. And there were two men in there. One of them had a gun and he shot the other one," she tells him.

"The murderer, did he see you?" The Doctor asks. Polly tells him that she was chased and that she managed to lose him. Then the Doctor inquires, "Could you find this hangar again?"

Polly motions back the direction Jamie had spotted her approaching from, "Well I... I think so, I remember the name. It was Chameleon something-or-other..." but she is distracted by the fact that there are only two of them, "Hey, where's Ben?"

"We haven't seen him. Come on, let's find this hangar," the Time Lord can almost sense the odd feeling of Time being altered and changed by the events taking place. This must be why his TARDIS brought him here.

"But listen, the man with the gun. He'll be looking for me!" Polly reminds him.

Jamie puts a hand on her shoulder, "Ah, we'll look after you. Now come on."

"But where's... what about Ben?" Polly really doesn't want to go back there.

"Aye, we'll find him. Come on," the piper sets off after the Doctor and Polly sighs before dashing after them.

She takes the pair right back to the Chameleon Tours hanger. Unaware that they are being watched, the trio enters the main area and Polly leads the two men right to the body in the middle of the floor. She points at it, "Look. And the bloke came out of that door there."

The Doctor spots the door that she points to and moves over to investigate, "Is it locked? Is anyone in there?" He studies the door and announces, "No, it's locked. There's nobody there." Then he moves back to the body and begins a careful examination of it, "Polly, this man that killed him. Would you recognize him again?"

Polly nods, "Well, yes. He chased me. I'd recognize him anywhere."

The Doctor kneels next to the male corpse and studies what he can see without touching or contaminating it. After a long moment he glances up at the blonde woman, "Polly, how do you say he was killed?"

"With a gun," she answers.

He frowns, "Can you describe it to me?"

She shakes her head trying to remember it clearly, "No. It was... it was too far away. Why?"

"This man was electrocuted. His clothes are all scorched!"

This does not surprise the odd little man's companions near as much as it might if they hadn't traveled with him across time and space. Polly insists, "It was definitely some kind of a gun, Doctor."

He nods, showing that he believes her, "Maybe. But not one that's not been developed yet on this planet." After a moment he decides that he's finished his investigation and stands up. He looks around and finds a blanket to cover the body with to preserve any evidence that might be on it. He carefully lays this over the body. "We must report this to the authorities."

Jamie suggests, "That man who chased us, we could find him maybe."

Shaking his head the Doctor says, "What, the policeman? Oh, no, no, Jamie. We must find the man in charge in this place."

Polly glances at the body, "But what about him? We can't just leave him here."

"There's nothing else we can do. Now, let's find the main airport building. Come on," the Doctor sets off. After a moment his two companions take off after him. Polly falls to the back of the group. None of them are aware that the murder is hiding in wait. He watches the Doctor pass and then Jamie. Neither of them poses a threat to him, but Polly does. He grabs her as she starts to pass him and clamps a hand over her mouth.

The Scottish lad is saying, "Are you sure this is the right way, Doctor?"

"This seems to be leading to the main airport building," the older man responds.

The young woman struggles a bit, but the killer has no intention of killing her. Instead he stuns her and drags her away. It takes a few moments but the Scotsman stops and looks around, "I don't understand it, Doctor. Polly's nowhere to be seen. Something must have happened to her." He marches back to the inner office door and tries the handle.

"It's locked Jamie. There's nobody there." The older man knows he is going to need help, as there is no way he can correct this alone. "I'm afraid we're wasting our time here, Jamie. The sooner we find the authorities and tell it all to them, the better. Come on." Both the Doctor and Jamie leave, although neither is overly happy about doing so. They eventually reach the main building. There's a group entering in ahead of them and the Doctor joins this group. "This seems to be the way, Jamie!" The mass of people form into a line as they reach the immigration desk where a young man in a uniform is checking passports. Stepping out of the line the Doctor moves to the fellow's side, "Excuse me, we're looking for someone in authority."

The young man does not take his eyes off the passport he is examining, "Just a moment, sir. All in good time." He glances up at the woman again and stamps her papers before handing it back and waving her through, "Thank you, Madam." Only then does he look at the mop top gent in his shabby jacket. The first thing out of his mouth is, "Now sir, your passport please."

"I've got no time for that. We want to see someone in authority!" the Doctor demands.

"I am in authority. Your passport please."

"You don't understand, we... we have something important to report!"

"Yes, sir. When you've found your passport." With that he motions to the next person in line and says, "The next one, please."

Jamie looks at the dark haired man, "What's a passport, Doctor?"

The Time Lord waves this off, "Oh, some sort of official mumbo-jumbo." He's becoming cross with this nonsense, and he pushes his way back to the desk, "Look! We've just discovered a dead body out there!" He motions to the airfield. The fellow at the desk shows no sign of having heard which prompts the Doctor to demand; "Did you hear me?"

This does not phase the fellow, "Well, sir. If I were you I'd inform the police."

Testily the Doctor snaps, "Then please tell me where we can find them."

"There's probably a policeman in the main concourse, through this door and turn to your left." The man indicates the area beyond his desk. The Doctor thanks him but before he can pass the young man stops him and says, "May I see your passport, sir!?"

_Oh of all the foolishness_. This is one of those times he wishes he'd gotten his hands on some psychic paper. Of course he doesn't have any. And he hasn't taken the time to establish an identity in this time period either. This is one of the reasons that he so strongly dislikes this era. "We neither of us have passports! Now does that satisfy you?"

"I think you must be mistaken, sir. You couldn't have got on the aircraft without passports."

Jamie speaks up at this point, "We didn't arrive on an aircraft."

The uniformed man looks at them, "Now look here sir, this joke has gone on far enough. You know and I know that you must have arrived here on the last inbound flight, which was... Flight number 729 from Madrid."

Jamie looks at the Doctor and blurts out, "Can we not tell him about TARDIS?" The Doctor steps on the lad's foot and thinks to him, '_No, we can't_.'

"What's that?"

Jamie isn't paying attention, "It's the way we got here."

The damage is already done however. The young man knows about 'the prank' with the police box and is now thinking that these two odd gents are part of it, "You gentlemen wouldn't know anything about a police box, would you?"

Jamie opens his mouth but snaps it closed with the hard kick he gets to his ankle. The other man is reaching for his phone, and the Doctor is saying, "I really think that our mode of conveyance is irrelevant. The important thing is that we've discovered a dead body out there and we want to report it to someone in authority."

"I think you'll have plenty of opportunity to see someone in authority." He motions to the wall bench, "Will you take a seat please over there?"

"Thank you very much," the Time Lord mumbles as he snags Jamie by the arm and leads him to the seats.

Not taking his eyes off the odd pair the young man in the uniform hastily dials, "Give me the Commandant, please... Hello, sir, Jenkins here. Immigration, Desk Number Five. I think I've got two of your suspects here..."

In a very short time the Commandant arrives and the Doctor tells him what is going on. Not that the man believes him, of course. The expression he's getting is one of steely skepticism, "You say this girl actually witnessed a murder?"

The Doctor confirms this "Yes, she saw the man killed," and then winces when Jamie blurts out how he determined the man died. This causes the Commandant to fix his stare at the Scotsman. The Doctor steps in, "What does it matter what sort of gun. The point is he was killed and my friend saw it happen!"

"Where is she? I'd like to talk to her."

Jamie replies, "Well that's another thing, She's vanished."

At this the man has clearly reached the end of his rope, "Oh, people who vanish. Ray guns! Is this some sort of joke?"

"You wouldn't think it a joke if you'd come and see the body," the Doctor indignantly responds. Then the Commandant looks at the passport checker and discovers that the two individuals he's talking to have not got passports. He demands to know why they don't. This causes the Doctor to straighten in anger, and really he's not that tall of a fellow, but he does have presence and usually this works to grant him a measure of authority on his own, "Oh look, we're all wasting time! Now, are you going to come and see that body, or am I going to find someone who really is in charge in this place?"

The loud firm voice does the trick, as does the challenge. The Commandant says, "I am in charge in this place, thank you! Now, you'll both accompany me to this hangar, immediately." Although the Doctor is being ordered around and he usually doesn't like that much, in this case it is exactly what he wants. As long as he gets someone out to that hanger to see the body. The Commandant tells the officer at the desk, "Tell Air Traffic Control where I am." With that he waves the unusual pair back out to the airfield and follows them. He trusts the young man to do as he's told and has no worries about that. But once they reach the hanger they discover the body is gone. The evidence of the body is not, but the body itself is. The head of the airport says, "You're quite sure you got the right hangar?" Jamie tells him that yes this is the right place, ignoring the sarcastic tone in the man's voice. The Doctor fiddles in his pockets until he finds a magnifying glass, tweezers, and an envelope. He then sets to gathering evidence before it too disappears. The Commandant sneers at him and the odd lad in the kilt, "What exactly are you doing?"

"Gathering evidence. For the police of course. The trouble is, I can't tell them who he was."

"Some sort of mystery man, no doubt?"

At this the Doctor nods, "Yes, as a matter of fact he was. There was nothing in his pockets to identify him. In fact there was only one thing…" At this he fishes out a Spanish postage stamp that has not been postmarked, "This!"

"A postage stamp?"

"Ah, but it's Spanish, and it hasn't been used!" After a moment longer the Doctor says, "Hello, this is interesting!"

The Commandant frowns, "What have you found now?"

"It's burnt fibres!" these are placed into the envelope. Jamie then points out the burn mark on the side of a nearby packing crate. The mark is fresh. "You're right, Jamie. That's quite new. Hmm. Well it's good to see someone is using their intelligence." The reproachful glare is the last straw for the head of the airport.

"Oh, I've had enough of this. You two are coming with me."

The Doctor ignores him, studying the burn mark, "That was definitely made by a ray gun."

"Ray gun, burnt fibres, unused foreign stamps... I must be as mad as you are even to be listening you!"

The Doctor gets to his feet and wipes his hands on his handkerchief, "You know what they've done with it, don't you? Somewhere there's a large packing case."

Jamie points at a suspicious looking box, "Right behind you, Doctor!" Unfortunately the box proves to be filled with – cups. Thousands of plastic cups.

The Commandant is livid; "Plastic cups!" He turns on the Doctor, "Now, I'm going to do some investigating of my own. What I am going to investigate is you and why you're both here in the Airport. Come on, you two, out!"

The Doctor sighs, "Come on, Jamie. We'd better humor him." They follow the man from the hanger and back to the immigration desk. The Doctor has not given up, "If you'd had let me search the place properly..."

The Commandant shakes his head, "That hangar is leased to a private charter company. I've no right to search in there, let alone you. Now, will you kindly sit down and keep quiet!" He then turns to the young man still on duty, "Jenkins, get on to Superintendent Reynolds. Yeah, this is his job - these people are trespassing."

"I've just got another flight coming through, sir," Jenkins tells him. The sound of approaching feet supports his claim.

"Oh, all right, I'll do it."

He goes to pick up the phone when the young Scottish lad grabs the rumpled man's arm and shouts, "Doctor, look!"

It is Polly. Or someone that looks like Polly. The Doctor jumps up and rushes over to the man at the phone, "Commandant, this is the girl I was telling you about."

She gives him a blank expression, faintly puzzled, "I beg your pardon?"

Jamie joins the Doctor with a hopeful expression as the older man asks, "Now where have you been, Polly?"

"Polly? My name isn't Polly. You must have made a mistake. I've never seen them before in my life!"

This distresses both Jamie and the Doctor. The Commandant frowns. "You're quite sure you've never met these men? They say they know you."

"But they can't know me. This is my first visit to England!"

"But Polly, it's us, me and the Doctor!" Jamie says, very upset.

The rumpled little man puts a hand on the Scotsman's arm. It's a gesture that is somehow familiar. "Would you mind telling us your name?"

"I am Michelle Leuppi from Zurich." With that she hands over her passport and asks, "Have I done something wrong?"

The head of the airport leafs through the papers and hands it back. Everything looks to be in order, aside from the very sincere unset that the two men are putting off, like the missing girl is someone they have known for a very long time and are quite close to. "Oh no, I don't suppose there's anything for you to worry about, Miss. May I just ask what you're doing in England?"

"I have come here to work. Look, here is my work permit."

The Commandant accepts the document and studies it before giving it back, "Oh, yes, that's quite in order. Thank you. Excuse me. Everything's perfectly in order. Now if you'd just like to go through there?" With that the girl heads on her way and the head of the airport resumes his call after telling Jamie, "You're going to wait here until the Superintendent of police arrives - now understand that?"

It's quite clear that the attempt to pass this situation off to the authorities has failed. The Doctor whispers to Jamie, "Jamie, I don't think we're very welcome here. When I say run, we run!" He waits until the moment is right and then orders, "Run!"

Jamie doesn't hesitate. He flawlessly follows the Doctor's command and the pair streak past the barrier, through the reception area and into the throng that provides perfect cover along the main concourse. Both of the other men behind them that might have had a chance at catching them stay at their posts, with the Commandant informing the police that that the pair has made a run for it. The pair manages to evade the patrols, knowing that they are looking for them. What they don't know is that Ben has managed to slip into the concourse as well and is also trying to find his friends. The Doctor and Jamie manage well enough to keep the police guessing by hiding in plain sight, although it would help matters if the German paper that Jamie was holding was not upside down. "They're still hunting for us, Doctor."

"Yes. We'll have to keep out of their way until we can prove our story."

"A fine chance we have of doing that - with Polly kidding on she doesn't know us!" Jamie says.

The Doctor glances at him, "I don't think Polly was kidding on. In fact I don't think that was Polly."

"Of course, it was Polly! You saw her!"

While it was true that the young woman was wearing the same clothes, had the same hairstyle, even possessed the fine tan from spending two years in Alexandra with them, something was off about her. The Doctor wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was something… "You don't want to believe everything you see, Jamie."

Meanwhile the police have turned and are on their way back, "Doctor," Jamie hisses. He's still finely tuned to the facts of war and evasion, thus his signal is heeded and the papers come up to block their faces. Once more the two men in black patrol past them, not noticing the German print being upside down. After they are gone Jamie says, "All clear, Doctor." The little man doesn't respond right away, "Doctor," Jamie shakes his shoulder.

He puts his hand over the lad's, "Jamie! What was the name of that hangar?"

"Polly said... Chameleon something."

The Doctor folds the paper, "Yes, Chameleon Tours." He passes the large ad to the lad and reads it to him, "An advertisement for Chameleon Youth Tours. 'Budget Tours for young people between the ages of eighteen and twenty five.' This could be the bait. Do you know what a chameleon is, Jamie?"

"It's just a name, I suppose."

"It is the name of a small animal, a lizard that can change it's color to merge with it's background. But it's a name that could equally be applied to people as well. People who change their personalities to suit their own ends. Budget Tours... young people between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. Oh yes, there's something strange going on here." He's distracted by Ben running up to them, "Ben! Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," the sailor tells them before he frowns at the significant missing member of their group, "What happened to you two and where's Polly?"

It's understandable that he'd be upset at her being missing. The Doctor shakes his head, "We can't talk here. We've got to find somewhere to hide. Something about passports."

"I've got the very place. Come on," with that Ben leads them off down the concourse, staying alert for police and security staff. He spots someone very familiar as they move down the airport, "Look! There's Polly!"

The Doctor stops him from approaching her, "Yes, look who she's working for!"

Jamie glances up and the characters arrange themselves into Gallifreyan before his eyes, "Chameleon Tours."

Ben is confused but trusts the Doctor with his life and Polly's too. So when the Doctor says, "Yes, leave this to me," he doesn't pitch a fit. The three stroll over to the kiosk, the two younger men behind the older. "Polly."

The young woman glares at him, "Please go away."

"Now, something has happened to you, Polly. I want you to try to remember up to the time we left the hangar," the Doctor says to her. Ben is giving her a very sad, distressed expression.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Now think, Polly. There were three of us in the hangar. You were showing us something. Now what was it?"

"I tell you, I don't know what you're talking about."

The Doctor persists, "The hangar, Polly, The Chameleon Hangar. You said you'd seen the man who did it."

Angrily the blonde snaps, "I didn't see anything. I think you're mad. If I'd seen anyone shot, I'd have gone to the police..." but she's said too much and she knows it. Her face clenches.

"Anyone shot?"

Flustered the girl says, "I... I mean murdered..."

"I didn't say anyone was shot, or murdered, Polly."

The girl breaks down into tears, "Look, please, will you just leave me alone." She then turns to her paperwork, determined to ignore the three men.

Ben looks hurt and astonished. His Duchess would never act this way. "What's happened to her, Doctor?" The little man tells the sailor that he intends to find out what is going on and he won't rest until this is solved. But first they need a place where they can talk. "Right," Ben says as he leads them off. Behind them the girl who is Polly but not Polly stares at their backs.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ben has no idea how difficult it is to concentrate with this close contact, honestly. Jamie has insisted that the smaller Doctor sit in his lap, and Ben is so used to their being close that he doesn't even think it odd anymore. Two years living with them as lovers sort of blinds the sailor to how strange this entire thing might look if someone glances in at them. Jamie looks at the little glass screen that is in the middle of the wall and curls his arm around the Doctor's back, trying to give Ben enough room to close the curtain. "What is this place?"

"It's a machine that takes your photograph," Ben starts to explain.

The Doctor puts a finger over Jamie's mouth and rapidly answers his question with mind to mind communication while at the same time saying, "No Ben, not now. What puzzles me is this girl pretending to be Polly, yet... yet in a way, she is Polly."

Ben frowns, "Do you think she's been brainwashed?"

The little man shakes his head, "No. For several reasons. One, there was no time. Whatever happened to her happened to her in a few minutes. Two, she's not in the same physical state now as our Polly is in. She smells different. Look out!" Seconds later an elderly woman draws the curtain back to see the three men posing with big toothy grins at the lens, but with the smaller man sitting in the lap of the farther away younger one. Her expression becomes shocked and hostile before she flings the curtain closed and rushes away. Ben doesn't say anything about the Doctor's last clue, knowing exactly what the man is referring to. He's clearly worried though. "All right. Now Ben, Jamie, we've got to find out more about Chameleon Youth Tours, but the trouble is, we're not free to move around with the authorities looking for us."

Ben points out that he is not being looked for. The Doctor agrees that he should go search the hangar. At the same time he intends to try again to get the Commandant to listen to him, but he also wants the Polly watched. Jamie wants to go with Ben, but the Doctor doesn't think their chances are going to be that great if they stay together. In the end Jamie moves off to keep a watch on the Chameleon Tours' kiosk. While he is there he discovers that people have been going missing from the tours. One young lady is looking for her brother who was last known to be heading to Rome. Her name is Samantha and 'Polly' is no help to her at all.

By chance she ends up sitting right next to Jamie as she waits for the promised information. After a moment Jamie asks her, "Do you think something's happened to him."

"Well, that's just it, I don't know. Oh, Brian can take care of himself all right, but still..."

"Aye, well I hope you're right. I might just be able to help you. I can't tell you anything at the moment but later I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. I'm sure he'll know what's best," Jamie tells her before disappearing back behind his newspaper. The young lady glances up to see a policeman strolling by. Something tells her that this young Scottish lad might just be able to make good on his promise.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor follows through with his plan to attempt to get the Commandant to listen to him by going to his office. He listens in as his assistant announces his arrival, "Excuse me, sir." The response is a mumble. She bravely continues, "There's a gentleman to see you." She too cheerful by far for the head of the airport's sense of well being but he bite the bait anyhow and asks what the man is there to see him about. His assistant gives him an amused look, "Well yes. It's about a dead body."

The expression on the commandant's face is worth her amusement, about ten times over, "Bring him in."

She steps to the door and beckons to the man outside, "Would you come in, please?"

"Thank you," the small man cuts a shabby figure but he's unfailingly polite and very friendly. She, at least, finds him quite engaging. He brushes down his scruffy frock-coat as he enters the room. He beelines to the Commandant's desk with a beaming smile, "Ah, Commandant. How nice to see you again."

The head of the airport shudders and picks up his phone, "Airport Police please."

"At least hear what I have to say," the Doctor pleads.

"I've heard all I want to from you." He then turns his attention to the phone, "What do you mean, they're engaged. This is the Commandant. Thank you."

Undeterred the Doctor tries another tactic, "If you're going to speak to the police, then tell them that there's something happening in this airport that may endanger human lives."

The other man ignores him, "Hello police? Commandant. Would you send a couple of men down here at once please."

"Since I'm obviously about to be arrested may I make one last request? Listen to me for just one minute."

He gets a head shake, "Not for one second. I've heard all I want to hear about burnt fibres, ray guns, disappearing people..."

"But there was a dead body in the Chameleon Tours hangar!"

The assistant perks up at that, "Did you say 'Chameleon Tours'?"

The scruffy little man turns to look at her, hoping that he's got an ally here, "Why, do you know something about it?"

She looks at the Doctor, then switches her attention to her boss, "Well no, but the Inspector Crossland wanted to know..."

"All right, Jean. I'll handle this," the Commandant cuts her off. Moments later two police enter the room. He addresses them with obvious relief, "Ah, take this man away, put him under lock and key and keep him there!"

The scruffy little man backs away from the two police, thinking rapidly. Suddenly he thrust his hand into a pocket and holds his fist up, "One step nearer and I'll blow you all to smithereens!" What they can see is that he's got something round and black in his hand. The pair of lawmen freeze, quite concerned that they are dealing with someone deranged. The Doctor backs to the door, swiftly maneuvering to make an exit. He pauses, "Catch!" With that he tosses whatever it was in his hand. Everyone's eyes follow the little black sphere as the Commandant automatically moves to catch it.

The astonished man finds that he's holding a little black rubber ball. He glances up at the door to find that the odd little man is gone. "All right, after him!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie finds that the fake Polly doesn't do much to assist his new friend, Sam. Polly closes the kiosk after telling Sam flat out that she can't help her and that she should just head home. Instead of getting the meek results that her employers are looking for, this attitude makes Sam even more determined. Shortly thereafter the Doctor comes back to the loading area outside the booth. Jamie jumps up and catches the Doctor's arm, "Doctor, I'd like you to meet this young lady."

The Doctor is slightly preoccupied, "What young lady? Where's Polly?"

"She's still inside," Jamie tells him.

"Ah, I shan't be a minute," he smiles at them both and then slips over to the kiosk. With the sonic screwdriver he's able to quickly break into the booth, "Polly..." He finds to his surprise that it is empty. He takes the time to do a quick search and finds piles of blank postcards from the various places that the company does tours to, sheets of unused foreign stamps, and he is sure that this is a clue, if he could only figure out what it meant. He slumps into the seat at the desk and thinks about it. The monitor catches his eye. Currently it shows a general view of the area outside the booth. His eye is drawn to the model plane on a stand in the corner of the desk. He reaches out and tugs on the tail of the plane. It clicks the entire model into a new position and the monitor now shows the medical center.

Rather pleased with himself he tries to see what else this will show. The next image on the screen is Ben talking urgently into a phone. The Doctor leans closer, hearing Ben over a hidden speaker, "But why wouldn't you listen to him? It's all true. I'm in the Chameleon Hangar now and I've just f..." he's cut off by a figure holding a small metallic pen shaped device. This item makes Ben freeze once it is touched to the back of the sailor's neck.

"Ben!" Panicked and not thinking the Doctor fiddles with the plane, "Ben, can you hear me?" he moves an engine, "Ben, can you hear me?" He's unaware that he has in fact managed to make the others aware of his being in the booth, "Ben, are you all right, can you hear me? Ben! Ben! Ben, can you hear me?" He jumps up and dashes out of the room finally realizing that the screen is two way, and that whoever attacked Ben is now aware that he know this. He flies out to where Jamie is, "Wait here. Keep an eye on the booth. I'm going after Ben. If I'm not back in half an hour come to the hanger, but be careful. Understand?"

Jamie nods. The Doctor goes off in a rush. The Scotsman frets. He frets bad. He doesn't like being left here. Sam looks at him and can see he's worried, and she's pretty sure that the funny little man means the world to her new friend, "Hey, you think we should go after your friend? He's been gone about ten minutes now."

"No, he said half a hour. Now, we'll do what he said," Jamie tells her, even though he really wants to find his Thete and make sure the man is not getting into trouble.

Sam pokes the piper with a teasing expression, "Hey, he is a right weirdy, isn't he?"

"No! I wish I had his brains."

She moves closer on the bench; "You're all right as you are." Jamie gives her an alarmed look about the little flirt. Sam smiles at him, realizing that he's quite attached.

At that moment a new young woman marches up to the booth and opens up, "Chameleon Youth Tours announce the departure of their flight Number Four-One-Three to Zurich. Will all passengers please assemble in the departure lounge. Chameleon Youth Tours ann..."

"Hey, look, they've opened up that kiosk now."

Jamie frowns, "Aye, and where's Polly?" Around him the announcement continues.

Soon there is a good crowd of young people gathered together at the kiosk. Sam and Jamie watch as the new woman has them sign postcards for their parents and says, "I'm quite sure the first thing you want to do when you get to Switzerland is write home to your parents..." Many in the crowd groan. "But in case you don't have time, Chameleon Tours have some postcards of Zurich ready for you to write here. When you've finished your postcards, give them back to me and we'll post them for you in Zurich." The youngsters begin filling out the cards.

Sam glances at one of them that sits next to her and discovers that the card is pre-stamped. "Look! A postcard of Zurich, stamped with a Swiss stamp, all ready to post," she says to Jamie. "Don't you see. This could explain the card I got from Brian. It was posted in Rome, but that doesn't mean to say that he posted it!"

Jamie's face goes from confusion to understanding, "Oh I see. We'd better tell the Doctor about this! Er, how long's he been gone?" He gets to his feet.

Sam tells him, "Err, about half a hour, now."

"Right, I'll go and find him."

Not to be left behind she jumps up as well, "I'll come with you."

But before they've taken more than half a dozen steps a burly man with the thick moustache moves into their path and blocks them. He looks right at Jamie, "Just a minute, son. I want a word with you."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor looks for Ben, meanwhile, in the Chameleon Tours' hanger office. He's managed to reach the building without drawing attention to himself, but is finding little sign that Ben has been there, except for the alien pen-like device left lying on the desk. He takes this and examines it. He knows Ben was attacked here. He sits down in the same chair and looks over his shoulder. Oddly, there's a floor to ceiling bookcase there. He suspects that the wall hides something. But then he's looking for Ben. Once more he jumps to the conclusion, "Packing cases!" It's the only way for them to have smuggled out someone unseen. He rushes out into the main area of the hanger and sets to work on the various boxes of the correct size.

He uses a screwdriver to pry the lid off one of the cases, with difficulty. He's not completely unaware of being watched but intent enough on his task that he doesn't care. He gets the lid off and discovers a body wrapped in a sheet. Hoping that it is Ben he uncovers the face. It's a man but not one he knows, and not the one that had been killed. The sound of a blurred but familiar voice catches his attention, "Somebody, help me... please... I'm suffocating..." The voice seems to come from the office, so he carefully heads back that way. As he enters it the voice comes again, "Quickly, somebody help me please... I'm suffocating... Help me, please!"

The room is empty. But he spots the panel closing high in the wall and realizes that this is a trap. Before he can move to escape a nozzle appears in another wall and filling the room with a white vapor. He makes a dart for the door but it closes in his face. He shoves at it, finds that it is locked and turns back to look at the nozzle and the vapor. The gas coming into the room is icy cold. His superior biology will protect him, but his attackers don't know that. So he pulls off the perfect act, much as a human might and convulses his way to the floor.

Then he thinks that maybe there is a better way. He clambers back to his feet and uses his handkerchief to plug the nozzle. _Let's see how determined you are, eh_? His invisible opponent toggles another nozzle and begins flooding the room from a higher point. While the little man cannot reach the nozzle from the floor he's quite determined to plug it too. He drags a chair over and snags a duster from the desk. He uses the chair to reach the nozzle and stuffs the duster into it to block it. While he's up there he spots the camera. He smirks at it and quickly covers it with his coat. Then he remembers the two way workings of the monitor and moves to smash it. The Doctor slumps by the overturned desk chair and waits, mimicking finally falling foul of the gas.

Soon he hears the telltale click of the secret door opening. He feels the non-human kneel next to him and start to lift him up. But the Doctor is ready for this and uses the little pen-like freezing device on his attacker. This accomplished he bounds to his feet, slips the little device into a pocket and grabs his coat. He hasn't found Ben but he suspects that neither Ben nor Polly is on Earth anymore. He rushes out of the hanger, right past the crate with the body in it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie has told the man that wanted to talk to him, Inspector Crossland, the entire story, at least what he's been told is safe to tell. Sam has told him about her brother too. While Crossland has sympathy for her he's far more worried about the possibility raised by Jamie's story. Sam protests, "Yeah, but what about me brother?"

"I'm afraid I've got something more serious to look into first Miss. If this young man's telling the truth, a colleague of mine's been murdered."

Jamie spots his Thete approaching looking like he's been in a bit off a trouble. Ben is not with him. Jamie jumps to his feet and reaches for the little man, concerned, "Ah, Doctor! There's a man here wants to talk to you."

It's pretty clear that the Doctor is worried and preoccupied by this situation. Jamie feels the energy flow between them jolt across the touch like sharp shards. The Doctor says, "Oh, who is he?"

"Err..." Jamie manages before being cut off.

The man holds out his warrant card, "There you are sir."

"Detective-Inspector Crossland... Scotland Yard!" the little man announces, seemingly quite happy to be reading this.

"Aye, I've told him everything," Jamie says. His Thete catches the Scotsman's hand and squeezes_. Good lad_. Jamie squeezes back and relaxes a fraction.

The detective pulls a photograph from a pocket, "Have you ever seen that man?"

After a moment's study the Doctor says, "Well that's the man we found in the Chameleon Tours hangar!"

Crossland believes this odd pair. The Scotsman is just too honest to be making it up and the funny little man in his frock-coat brims with intelligence and determined truthfulness. He nods, "All right then Doctor, we'll go and see the Commandant. I want him to hear your story."

"Well he... he wasn't every impressed with it the last time," the Doctor tells the man.

He is firmly told, "This time, he's going to believe you!"

Jamie can tell that his Doctor is reluctant to go back to the Commandant's office again, but he sees no choice. Slowly he gets to his feet, "Well, if you think so. Jamie, stay here and keep an eye on the kiosk. We shan't be long." While Crossland turns his attention to Sam, Jamie snags the Doctor's hand again. _Keep the young lady out of trouble, please. We've lost Ben and Polly already and I suspect that there are aliens involved,_ the Doctor thinks to him.

Jamie nods as Crossland says, "And don't worry about your brother, Miss. We'll find him for you!"

As the two older men hurry away Sam sighs and flashes Jamie a disgusted look, "A fat lot of good that Inspector's going to be."

"Ah, but he believes us," Jamie informs her. This is much better than what he and the Doctor have been up against.

"Oh yeah, but that doesn't mean to say he's going to do anything," she gets to her feet, "I think I'll go and have a look round that Chameleon Hangar."

"Ah, not by yourself!" Jamie's standing now too.

"Well, I suppose it would be better if I had a man with me."

He frowns, "Aye! Oh, if only the Doctor hadn't told me to watch this place."

"Oh, do you always do everything you're told?"

Jamie fixes her with a stare, "No! But the Doctor trusts me."

"Yeah, that's your trouble isn't it. All right stay here," Sam gives him a pathetic look in spite her attempt to face whatever is in that hanger by herself. "After all, they can only murder me. Ta-ra."

The Doctor had told him to keep Sam out of trouble, so he supposed that if she was going to toss herself into danger he'd better be there to pluck her out again, "Don... Oh... Wait a minute. I don't suppose anything will happen here, do you?"

Sam turns back to look at him hope shining in her eyes, "Well since they closed the kiosk, it's hardly likely."

"And we won't be long away, will we?"

"Well, that depends on what we find. Ar, come on kid!"

Yep, she's gonna run off and get herself into trouble. He'd better go with her, "In any case, you'll need me to show you the way there!" Once they reach the hanger it's pretty clear that there is no one lurking about. In fact the fellow that the Doctor tricked is not there either. Jamie and Sam split up and each searches an area. Sam comes across an envelope filled with written out but unposted postcards. These are supposed to be posted in Germany. After reading through a couple she tucks the entire works under her arm and heads out to show Jamie. Jamie in the mean time has found the previously opened crate and notes that it is empty.

She shows him the envelope, "JAMIE! Jamie, look what I've found! There must be fifty postcards here. That should make that inspector do something!"

"Aye, you're right. And I know where to find him. You're a brave wee lassie. No time to greet now."

Sam fights back her tears about her brother's unknown fate, "Oh, get off! I've got something in my eye, come on!" She brushes the tears away as she starts off. Then she turns back, "Where are we going?

"Commandant's Office," Jamie leads the way there.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Once again the Doctor has told the Commandant his story. This time he's got Crossland backing him up. The head of the airport says, "All right, all right, I'll accept that you found a body. But I still want to know where you come from, and why you have no passport."

"Oh, but surely that's unimportant..." the Doctor protests.

"It is not unimportant to break the law!"

The detective steps in, "Sir, I think we're going to have to let him tell us in his own way."

At this the Commandant gives in, "Oh very well. Make it brief!"

"Thank you. I have just carried out a search of the Chameleon Tours hangar. In a packing case, I found the body of a man," the Doctor tells them, "He was in a stupefied state, a sort of coma. I don't know his name but I have a feeling he's one of your employees. In fact, I think he may be in here."

The Commandant is doubtful, "Oh, indeed."

The Doctor nods and begins to study the various employees. At one he stops and listens to him, "Taxi, following southern taxi way for departure runway two-seven..." This is the man, he knows. But he needs to figure out why these aliens are doing this so when the man looks at him he turns away and studies the other two with equal intensity. Finally he removes the silver pen-like device from his pocket. He turns to the Commandant but stays near the suspect, "Do you know what this is?"

"It looks like a fountain pen to me."

"Things are not always what they seem," the Doctor tells him. Then Crossland tries to take the object from the little man, and although the Doctor doesn't stop him he does say, "Oh careful! It's dangerous. Chameleon Tours are not quite what they seem either."

This mystifies the head of the airport, "No, and what's your theory?"

"Well, I'm afraid you won't believe it when you hear it. First, Inspector Gascoigne was murdered with a ray gun. However..."

Crossland interrupts, "A ray gun?"

"A weapon that has not yet been developed on this Earth." At this the commandant scoffs. Hurt by this, the Doctor says, "There you are, you see, I knew you wouldn't believe it, what's the use?"

But the detective finds the Doctor oddly compelling. For one thing he's completely sincere in what he's saying, no matter how odd it may sound, "No, now be patient, sir, we are trying to understand you."

At this the Doctor takes a deep breath, deciding to tell them what he believes to be going on. He just hopes that they listen to him, "Very well. Next, I believe Chameleon Tours to be merely a front. A cover for the mass kidnapping of young people."

"And is all this supposed to be taking place in my Airport?" the Commandant asks.

"Yes - at this very moment!" The Doctor must make them believe him.

But it is clear that the head of the airport does not, "Oh, that's quite enough. Can't you take that fellow into custody?"

Crossland shakes his head at the man, "Well, I'm very sorry, sir, but you know he hasn't broken any law, except for this immigration business, and that's not my responsibility."

"But Brian Briggs is your responsibility," the Doctor reminds Crossland. The inspector does believe him, this he can tell.

"And who is he?"

"He is a young man who went on a Chameleon Tour and vanished," the Doctor starts.

Crossland cuts him off, "Ah now, come on Doctor, wait a minute. We're not certain of that yet."

"Well, he's nowhere to be found." At this Crossland concedes that the fellow is missing. "And neither are my two friends! Which to my mind proves my point. Chameleon Tours are a cover for the abducting of young people."

The Commandant says sarcastically, "And just where do you think they're taking them?"

Oh, well… this is where things are going to get tricky. But he had better tell them and then deal with the convincing bit, "Well, in view of the facts that I've already presented, the ray gun, this pen and err... one or two other things. I think we're dealing with people who are not from this planet."

"That hardly answers my que..." then he realizes the full implications of what has been said, "What did you say?"

Sadly the Doctor remarks, "You see, I knew you wouldn't believe me."

But while the commandant is ranting about how this is nonsense, Crossland says, "Um, look Doctor, I think you ought to produce some evidence to support all this."

"Evidence! What about this pen?" He holds up the silver pen-like device.

"A pen! Do you call that evidence?" the Commandant challenges.

"I'll demonstrate it for you." The Doctor takes in the room and spots the fact that it is tea time. He turns to the nearest employee, who is now holding a steaming cup of tea in his hand. It just happens to be the copy of the man he found in the hanger in the packing crate, "Excuse me. Would you mind helping us?"

He looks at the little rumpled man, "I don't understand."

"Could you hold this cup out in front of you, hmm?"

"Very well," while he agrees to hold the cup up, his instinctive reaction to the pen-device is fear and this makes the Doctor even more certain of who he is.

"Oh perhaps you've seen one of these before?"

"No, no I..." The Doctor keeps his aim on the cup and presses the firing button. The employee yells in fear, lets go of the cup, and flees the room. The saucer smashes to bits against the floor but the cup itself does not.

The Commandant's assistant picks up the cup. "It turned to ice!" She holds the now frozen tea out for the other two men to look at.

"Do you call that arrant nonsense?" the Doctor asks them quietly. The demonstration has proved his point, at the very least. Shortly he's got information flowing his way, including flight schedules for Chameleon Tours and information about the case that the missing detective was working on. Having just got the respect of the Commandant, he's not going to lose it now.

But then, Jamie burst into the room with his new friend, "Doctor!" The little man looks at his Scottish piper as the lad says to the young lady with him, "Samantha, down here." Then Jamie says, "Doctor! Picture postcards, look at them!" Sam holds out the envelope for the rumpled little man to take.

"What the devil?" the Commandant shouts, "I will not have my control room invaded!"

He's rather ignored, though, at the Doctor studies the contents of the envelope, "What, not even for these?"

"Why? What have you got there?" the man from Scotland Yard asks.

"I think it's the further evidence you require, Inspector," the little man answers as he spreads the postcards out on the nearest desk, "Yes, just as I thought. All falling into pattern. This envelope is addressed to somewhere in Germany."

Crossland turns to Sam, "Where did you get these?"

"In the office in that hangar. You see what they mean?" the girl asks him. "The cards are being sent to Dem Chameleon Reisen, Freiberg. That means Chameleon Tours. They give out these cards and get the kids to write home to their parents _before_ they go. Then the Chameleon Tours lot take the cards abroad and they post them back to Britain."

The detective quickly catches on, "So the parents think the children have arrived safely."

The Commandant cuts in, "Now, now, now, this is all mere sup... supposition."

This makes Sam mad, "Oh, to you, maybe. But one of those kids happens to be my brother."

Back peddling the Commandant says, "Your brother?"

Crossland comes to Sam's defense, "Aye, sir. This is the young lady whose brother's missing and you see she did get a card from him in Rome."

While the Commandant is trying to get his mind around why this is happening, the Doctor turns his attention to the flight schedule. Finally the commandant says, "Inspector, can I have a word with you?" The two men move away. Jamie keeps an eye on them but steps up to the Doctor and slips a hand onto his back under his coat. Over on the other side of the room the head of the airport says, "You don't think this fellow's a little unbalanced to you?"

Crossland on the other hand is thinking that the Doctor is anything but unbalanced. If they had someone as brilliant as him on the staff at they Yard many crimes would be solved much faster, "Oh maybe a wee bit unorthodox, sir. But after all he's given us the only lead we've got so far. If you could just see your way to giving him a free hand. Just to poke around a little bit, sir."

"A free hand?!" He glances back at where the Doctor is still studying the bundle of papers, the two young people seeming just as deep in the huddle with him, "Do... Don't you think it's safe to let the fellow roam round the Airport?"

"You can rely on us to keep an eye on him, sir. I personally will investigate Chameleon Tours. Then I'll report back to you here if I've found out anything; but in the meantime if you could just keep everything going as normal, you understand. We don't want them to get wind of anything," the inspector says.

The commandant pulls a face, "Alright. No, no, no, no, no." They step back to the Doctor and his two helpers, "Doctor. I'll give you the freedom of the Airport for twelve hours. Heaven help me. At the end of that time I shall expect you back here with some real facts this time."

Putting down the schedules, the Doctor notes the time, "Thank you, Commandant." Sam celebrates by hugging Jamie who manages to not look totally glum over the expression of affection. The trio are given passes a few moments later.

The next clue comes from one of the controllers who has been listening in the entire time, "Excuse me, sir. There's a Chameleon flight coming in now."

The Doctor listens in to the exchange as the man guides the plane into landing. After listening in he turns to the assistant that provided the passes, "How many flights do they use a day?"

"Seven or eight," she says.

"How many planes do they use?"

"Four. I could get their registration numbers if you like? Why do you ask?"

"Eight flights a day and only four planes. Is that normal?"

"Oh yes. They have a very quick turn-round. I mean, after all they're only on short haul flights. You know, all the holiday centres: Spain, Rome, Athens, the Black Forest..." She is called away.

The Doctor turns his attention to the radar screen, "Which is the Chameleon plane?"

He controller helpfully points out the blip. "Oh that one, sir. Look, he's turning left at Dunsfold. I shall hold him now over Epsom until I can give him landing clearance."

"What's the range of your radar?"

"Hundred and thirty miles, sir. Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering. When did this plane first appear?"

The man shrugs, "I've no idea, sir. We don't notice them 'til they start to call in. Oh excuse me a moment." He turns his attention to his mike, "Gatwick Control to Alpha Delta Sierra XRay Lima. Climb to ten thousand feet and hold in Epsom control zone to wait landing clearance." Over the mike the pilot repeats the instructions. Then the controller turns back to the Doctor, "Ah, you were saying sir?"

"How long do you hold them after take off?"

"Once they've left Gatwick control zone we've finished with them."

"Oh I see. That means they might go anywhere," the Doctor thoughtfully replies. After this the Commandant chases him out of the room. As he goes one of the Chameleons slips a button like device under the back of the Doctor's coat collar by bumping into him. The Doctor says to the fellow, "Haven't I met you somewhere before?" When he's told no, the response he gives is; "You must have a double." While the Doctor smiles about this it leaves the other man looking rather uncomfortable.

Sam heads off to call her parents so that they don't worry about her, while the Doctor and Jamie head back once again to the hanger. The Doctor is determined to locate the hidden door he knows is here in the office. Jamie is helping him but can see no clues, "Are you sure this is the right room, Doctor?"

"Jamie, have you ever known me to be mistaken?"

The Scot smirks, "Aye."

This causes the Doctor to look over at him, "Hey. Now watch out. That's the wall the gas-nozzles came out of."

"Well, there's nothing here now!"

Jamie steps aside as the smaller man moves to peer at the wall. The nozzles are concealed very well, "You're right. Well that's clever. That's very clever. Oh well, makes life simpler for us. Now..." he moves back to the bookshelf covered wall, "...the man I froze came from here somewhere."

"Aye, he would. A solid wall," the Scotsman says with a frown. "And we still haven't found Ben and Polly. What do you think's happened to them?"

With a sigh the Doctor says, "Somewhere in that solid wall there's a door. P.. p.. perhaps if we find that... that door, we'll find them. Come on, you take that end and I'll take this." He indicates opposite sides of the wall. Jamie agrees and sets to looking. "We must hurry. Inspector Crossland's keeping them busy at the moment, but he'll be no match for them. If he presses them too far..." They begin moving items from the shelves, working systematically from bottom to top and side to side. Finally the Doctor discovers one of the file boxes is fixed in place. He pulls it to the left and the secret door opens, "Jamie, look!"

Inside is a little control room. There is a corner cabinet with nothing inside but a chair. "What's that, Doctor?" Jamie asks.

The Time Lord's superior senses can detect different gases inside the chamber, "Someone who's not used to the Earth's atmosphere. Very interesting..." Then he spots the monitor, "Ah, TV monitor set. Let's see what we can see." They watch various scenes, including the man the Doctor froze talking to someone at the kiosk and the medical center.

"Hey, wh... what's that?"

"Well it looks like a hospital. Jamie, we're getting warmer, which is a change from the last time I was here. Come on. Let's see if there's a first aid post in Gatwick Airport." But as they leave someone spots them. They are near the floor from the upper office when the Doctor staggers and crumples from the sudden activation of the small disk near his spine. The Doctor jerks and reaches for his back, or tries to. The intense pain is more than he can override. "My back!" He feels like his nerves are on fire.

Jamie stares at him in horror, his worse fears surfacing again, "What?!"

The Doctor writhes in agony, "JAMIE, MY BACK!"

This causes Jamie to spring to action, frantically searching for the source of his Thete's pain. Although it seems like hours to the Doctor, it only takes the lad seconds to find the foreign device and rip it off the frock-coat. He tosses it away like it's on fire, feeling like he's grabbed a red hot piece of metal. The Doctor slumps back into him, bloodless and still. Completely unconscious. If not for the tingle from his weight against him Jamie would think the man was dead. He carefully settles the Doctor flat and feels for his pulse. He's shaking, himself. But he's got to revive the Doctor; it's their only hope of finding Ben and Polly. "Doctor!" Jamie knows the man is still alive, but he's having a very hard time getting him to wake up. Maybe he should carry him out of here?

"He's dead! You're coming with me," says another man who has just arrived.

Jamie notices the gun in his hand but shakes his head; "I'll not leave him."

"You have five seconds to change your mind."

"You'll have to kill me then," Jamie says stubbornly.

"I said five seconds. Five, four, three..." Sam comes around the corner and instantly takes in the situation. She springs into action, kicking over a pile of oil cans that falls and scatters with a lot of noise. The Scot screams to warn her about the gun as the man swings her direction. Jamie springs away from the Doctor and onto the man where he manages to knock the gun away before it can be used. While the possible alien dives for the gun and Jamie grapples with him to keep him from it, Sam runs up and kicks the alien weapon away. It becomes clear that the assailant is stronger than Jamie is and the man begins to over power him. Sam jumps him, throwing herself upon his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. But the man is not weaponless. He produces another one of the freeze-pens and zaps Jamie with it. The lad falls. With him down, Sam is brought under control fairly quickly.

When the three of them begin to come to they find that they are paralyzed still and that there's a laser slowly moving closer and closer to Jamie, who is on the outer edge of the group. Their attacker could have killed them outright but instead has chosen this sadistic method of slow death. Sam croaks, "Jamie? Are you all right?"

"Aye. Th... They've not harmed you, have they?"

"No - but I can't move."

Jamie tries to sit up and finds that he too is unable to do more than twitch. He just hopes that the Doctor is in better shape, "Doctor?"

The other man groans as Sam asks, "Are you all right?"

He's coming around, but his nerves feel like he's been set on fire, "What's happening? I... I can't move. What's that?" The Time Lord has spotted the beam of light.

Sam's eyes spot it too, "I... I don't know. It's a beam of light."

After a moment Jamie adds, "Aye. Doctor, it... it's moving towards us!"

They all watch the slow creep of the beam as it slowly advances their direction. It reaches a little pile of flammable trash which prompt flares into a little fire, "Oh… That's just a small fore-taste of what'll happen to us if we don't move and quickly."

"But I can't move, Doctor!" Jamie tells him.

"Neither can I." Sam says before struggling frantically anyway. "Wait a minute. I can move one arm." She manages to reach her handbag, "But I can't move away! Oh Doctor! Can't you do anything to stop it?"

"No," but he's thinking hard on the situation, "Wait. One thing. It's a long chance but it just might work. Have you got a mirror in that bag?" She tells him that she does, because most women carry a mirror in their bag, don't they? "Let's see," the Doctor says. Sam manages to get the mirror out, even though she's only got one hand to do it with and the odd fellow says, "Yes, that'll do. Hand it to me."

Only Sam can't move her arm that far and it's on the side closest to Jamie, "I can't."

The Doctor tries to move to make it easier and still cannot make his limbs work, feeling like his nerves are burning already, "I can't move my hand. Jamie, can you take it?"

This is slightly easier, as their hands are closer together, but Jamie has no feeling in his fingers and must rely on his less than good line of sight to actually tell if his fingers are gripping the mirror. "Have you got it?" Sam asks as she attempts to push it into his numb fingers.

"No, careful!"

"Take it!"

She manages to push it enough that his fingers get a grip on it, "Got it!"

The Doctor sighs, "Right now, see if you can point it at that laser gun." Jamie's never heard of a 'laser gun' before. The Time Lord has to explain what it is he's aiming for another way, "Th... that thing on the wall."

"I... I'll try, Doctor. But why?"

"Well, if you can reflect the light back, we've got a chance."

Jamie trusts this; it's enough for him to take the risk. He tightens his grip on the mirror and carefully begins edging it toward the approaching beam of light. Sam expresses concern about him holding it, saying that maybe he should prop it up on something. Jamie says, "No, it won't work. I'll... I'll have to hold it." Sam then notes that he's going to get hurt. Jamie tells her, "It's a risk I'll have to take." It is, after all, his hand or their lives.

The beam creeps ever closer, and the Doctor watches it carefully. Jamie doesn't. He's trusting his Thete to know exactly when he should make his move. Thus when the Doctor's voice urges, "Quick Jamie! Now!" the Scotsman thrust the mirror into the beam deflecting it. The pain cuts through the sensation of icy numbness, but he grits his teeth and pushes aside the desire to scream with a grunt. Carefully he adjusts the mirror, a fraction at a time, until he lines the beam up so that it is reflecting back on the black metal transmitter. It explodes into a fiery mess. "Oh, well done!" The Doctor's pride is worth it. Jamie lets off a bit of a laugh and forces himself into a sitting position. He stiffly releases the mirror into his lap and holds his hand away from himself now feeling the pain from his badly burned finger.

"Why... I can move!" Jamie says, as the sweat glistens on his skin. "Do you think that's what happened to Ben and Polly, Doctor?"

The other man slowly gets his own limbs working and then moves to check on Jamie's burn, "No." He concentrates on the forming blister and uses his own cooler body temperature to contain the damage, "I think they were needed for some purpose. We were obviously too dangerous for them."

Jamie nods as the Doctor performs a minor miracle of superior healing, causing the lad's own body to speed up and fix the damage. Sam sits up, not quite focused on what the two men are doing, "But to try and do something like this, in broad daylight!"

The wound is still going to need a dressing, as it will take a few hours to actually complete the healing process. The Doctor smiles at Jamie then glances at Sam over her words, "Yes. That means only one thing, I'm afraid. Their plans are almost complete. We'll have to act fast if we're going to save Polly and Ben."

"And Brian, or have you forgotten about him," Sam says. She's noticed now the look that the two men just shared, and it was one that gives her funny thoughts. But then the Doctor gives her one of those intense smiles and it chases the odd ideas right away.

"No, I've not forgotten him Sam, but if my guess is right, they're all in the same place."

Jamie asks, "And where's that?"

They spend a few moments helping each other to their feet, "I don't know. Wait! The first aid post! We saw a first aid post on that monitor. We must find it."

"Aye."

They decide that Sam will watch for the man that attacked them going into or coming out of the Chameleon Kiosk, while the Doctor will take Jamie to the Medical Unit for some first aid, because Sam seems to have gotten the best look at the fellow's face. He tells her to be careful and not let herself be seen. Sam retorts that they seem to be the ones in need of an extra dose of caution. They get back to the main concourse and split up. It doesn't take long for them to find the first aid area. Jamie doesn't have to fake pain at this point, but the Doctor notices that the nurse on duty is not human. "Come along, easy. You'll be all right. Now come along, take it easy. We'll have you as right as rain in a minute. Now just get you down here. There we are." He guides Jamie into a chair. "Splendid." He looks around.

Jamie holds his injured hand and groans lightly, a reminder that he's really injured. The nurse ushers out her companion, "If the tablets do not help, come and see me again." then she turns to the Doctor and Jamie, "What's the matter with him?"

The Doctor says, "Localized third degree burn. Possible broken finger. Might I use the x-ray room?"

"I… I'm afraid not. I have someone coming for an X-ray."

"You refuse to help my patient?"

The nurse quickly gathers the burn treatment supplies, "Oh, no. Of course not. I doubt that there's a break under that burn. Let's get this treated so you can move him to the clinic."

"Oh I see. Well why didn't you tell me that in the first place?" They quickly get the burn treated and the Doctor helps Jamie back up off the couch, "Let's get you out of here." They leave and head back to Air Traffic Control.

The Commandant's assistant hurries over to them, "Doctor, have you seen Inspector Crossland? Scotland Yard are looking for him and we can't find him anywhere. Also, your Miss Briggs wants to see you."

The Doctor frowns, "Well no, I haven't seen the Inspector. Where is Miss Briggs now?"

"She said something about going to the Chameleon Kiosk."

He's got a bad feeling about this, "Go down and join her, Jamie. She's a very strong headed young woman. See she doesn't come to any trouble."

"I'll keep an eye on her, Doctor." He hurries off to find Sam.

The Doctor turns to the head of the airport, "Commandant, did the Inspector say where he was going?"

"Hmm, oh he said he was going to make some inquires about Chameleon Tours."

"And now he's disappeared? Like my two friends who became involved with Chameleon Tours? They've both disappeared. However, you know what I think wh... that's happened."

"Yes, and you know what I think about your ridiculous theory. People from outer space, indeed." Moments later the Commandant's assistant puts the phone down and looks around with a pale shocked face, "Something the matter with you?"

She blinks at him, "Commandant, I've found out what's been happening. Wh... what I mean is I took the liberty of phoning all the airports that ah... err... Chameleon Tours fly to. The last on my list was Athens."

"B... but don't you realize the expense of phoning Ath..." the Commandant starts, totally alarmed with her actions.

"Yes, I know, I'm sorry. But what I found out is - they never deliver any passengers. It's absolutely true, sir. They all say the same thing. Dubrovnik, Athens, Rome. They say they pick up young passengers to take them off to other places but... none of them ever arrive anywhere!"

"Well in that case, they must be flying these young people to some secret airfield. But why?"

The Doctor sighs, "You're still thinking in Earth terms."

"And I intend to go on doing so. Wh... what was the name of that Chameleon Pilot? And what er... what time is the plane due back?"

"Captain Blade." She checks a schedule, "About half an hour sir."

The Commandant determines that the next time the plane leaves they will have it followed. He calls for assistance. In the interim the Doctor tries to get the help of young woman that has proven so beneficial thus far, "Might I have a word with you, my dear?" She steps off to the side with him, "I suspect that the Medical Center is connected with all this. Oh yes, there is definitely a connection, now, I would like to get in there and have a look round."

"But anyone can go in there," she tells him.

"But I would like to get that nurse out of the way first... Do you think that you can manage it for me?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

By the time Jamie has arrived at the kiosk he can tell that Sam has done as the Doctor feared she would do. She's bought a ticket. Sam spies him on their usual bench and moves over to him. "He said you'd do something silly," the Scotsman is shaking his head at her.

"Oh yeah, what else did he say?"

"He said you were headstrong."

Sam gives him a determined look, "Oh great. Look, you can tell the Doctor he's not going to talk me out of this one, and neither are you. I'm going on the next Chameleon flight, that leaves in half a hour." She knows Jamie is not happy about this, either. "Oh look don't you see it's the only way we can find out anything. Oh, don't worry. I'll come back and tell you all about it."

Jamie is not so sure that she will come back. He's also not so sure that he wants to let her get on the flight. But he comes up with a plan, telling her, "You not realize how dangerous it is. The Doctor said it was er... no job for a wee lassie... I say goodbye." With that he kisses her on the cheek and uses the resulting hug to lift the ticket out of her bag.

"Hey, kid! I can take care of myself, you know," Sam insists.

"I just wanted to make sure," Jamie says. He hides the ticket under his jumper and hurries away. He's not to sure what he's got himself in for, either. But he knows one thing, if there's men from space involved he's got more of a chance than she does.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor heads back to the medical center and waits for the nurse to leave. She does so in a huff. He then slips into the room and hurries over to the inner 'x-ray' area. He takes in everything, noting that the x-ray machine is not a x-ray machine after all. He makes a quick but thorough examination of it before turning his attention to a large locked cupboard in the side wall. The sonic screwdriver takes care of the lock but the contents, piles of black and white sheaths, are somewhat of a mystery. He studies them thoughtfully before pocketing one of each into different pockets. After that is done he turns and leaves.

As he hurries past the concealed man in the outer room an older looking lady comes in. She's got a rather worried look on her face. Quickly thinking the Doctor says, "I'm just going off duty, but err this gentleman will be pleased to attend to you." The other man doesn't dare challenge this and the Doctor slips away as the woman begins to complain.

The Doctor rushes back to the Air Traffic Control room. The 'nurse' is examining Jean while the Commandant complains that she's never done anything like this before. He signals to his accomplice that he's found what he was looking for and she says, "Thank you Nurse. I feel much better now."

"Have you had any lunch?" the nurse asks.

"No I've been so busy today, I haven't even had any breakfast," the assistant says.

The nurse frowns at the Commandant, "Then no wonder you didn't feel well. Really Commandant. You must see that your staff have time for regular meals." With that and the Commandant's protest the nurse snaps her bag closed and marches away, pausing to glare at the Doctor on the way out.

As soon as she is gone the Doctor moves over to them, "Very well done!"

The young woman instantly becomes bright and alert again, "Did I give you enough time?"

"Ample time. What do you think of these?" He asks as he produces the two sheaths.

The Commandant stares at the black and white objects, "Now, what are these?"

"I think there's somebody here who can tell us," the Doctor starts to say then he notices that there's someone else on duty. "I see. Oh well, these'll have to wait."

Soon the next flight is spotted coming in and then leaving again. The Commandant orders the flight to 'Rome' followed by a RAF. What they don't know is that Jamie is on that plane. The sensation of flight upsets his stomach and because of that he does not eat or drink anything that he is offered. In fact the sight of the others eating is enough to send him sprinting for the toilets at the back of the plane.

The RAF indicates to the controllers that it is following the Chameleon Tours plane while the Doctor and the Commandant watch over the radar. This is a highly unusual situation as they normally don't watch any plane beyond take off or landing and they are tracking this one to the limit of the radar, which is One hundred and thirty miles. The two planes pass the fifty mile mark and the RAF calls in to establish radio contact. At this point all seems normal. But all too soon it becomes clear that the RAF has been downed, dropping out of the sky like a lead weight. The Commandant orders a call to RAF Manston, and the controller indicates that the plane being followed is hanging in space as well. The assumption is that it is falling. But the Doctor believes that it is climbing, straight up.

Search and rescue comes up with nothing for remains of the larger aircraft, baffling the Commandant. The Doctor gently asks, "Why do you think the Chameleon plane crashed into the sea?"

"Because it must have collided with the RAF plane and dropped like a stone. When a plane on that radar appears to stand still, it is in point of fact dropping straight down."

"What about straight up?"

The Commandant sighs, "Oh my dear Doctor! To get above our radar umbrella like that it'd have to climb vertically until it was a hundred miles high. The darned thing would be in outer space."

The Doctor nods, "Exactly!" This is what he's been saying all along.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie listens to the stewardess and the pilot as they leave the plane from his hiding spot. He overhears that they destroyed a plane that was following them. These individuals, who ever they are, are over confident about their ability to pull the wool over the eyes of the humans they have been dealing with. They equate the intelligence level of them with animals; something Jamie knows is not true. No. Just that most humans choose to not believe what they see until a critical mass of evidence appears. Then they all believe it, like there's a mass mind involved. This is something he's realized because of his travels with the Doctor. Now he needs to find out where he's ended up so that he can help rescue Ben and Polly. And Sam's brother, Brian.

As he starts to leave the plane he catches a glimpse of the alien's true forms, shapeless humanoid bodies and faceless blobby heads. He ducks back to avoid being seen, until he can slip out of the plane. He carefully follows the two human appearing workers, the only other two that have not disappeared, out into a long featureless metal corridor. Once there he just catches a glimpse of the woman going around a corner. He follows her. There's an open door, he watches her stow away small objects into drawers. As she finishes he ducks back out of sight. She leaves and he creeps into the room to avoid being seen by those coming along the hall behind him. While he's in there he looks to see what was being put into the drawers. Jamie discovers that they are filled with miniaturized young humans, passengers from the many flights, placed into some dormant state. There are hundreds of drawers in this room alone and six humans to each. The shock of the scale involved stuns him. There might be hundreds of rooms just like this one here, for all he knows. He's still reeling from this when the door opens behind him, and a female voice says,"I thought I'd missed one of you. I wondered what happened to you."

"What have you done to them?!" But she doesn't answer, instead calling in two of the faceless individuals to help her with Jamie, "No... No... Don't leave me." He's strapped to a bit of metal grill and left there until he can be dealt with. Not one to wait, Jamie set to work on getting free. He's very happy to see Crossland when the man comes into the room, "Inspector!"

"Let's see if I can get you out of there," the man says as he begins undoing the straps. "How did you get here?"

"I... I came on the plane, stole someone's ticket."

"You ought to have been miniaturized on the journey. Reduced in size - like all the youngsters in these cabins. Did you not have anything to eat or drink?"

"No, I... I felt too ill!" Jamie says, ashamed of his weak stomach.

"That explains it. The food is the first part of the process. We're on a satellite, Jamie. A flying ship in space. These people are from another planet. It seems the Doctor was right after all. Does anyone down there believe him yet?"

"Oh I... I'm not sure. I... I don't think so."

"I suppose it is too much for them to believe. But surely the Doctor's convinced them that something is going on?" Jamie indicates that perhaps the Commandant has finally started to believe that something is going on. He gets a smile, "No-one escapes from here. The last plane to Earth is leaving now. They've just gone back to pick up their own people."

"Surely the Doctor will think of some way of rescuing us," Jamie must believe this if nothing else.

Crossland shakes his head, "Not this time, Jamie. This time, he's up against a mind superior even to his. The mind of the Director. The man in charge of this whole mission."

"You seem to know a lot about it, Inspector."

"Of course I do, Jamie. I am the Director!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Two hours pass, and there's still no sign of the missing larger plane. The RAF is found and the cause of the crash determined to be the pilot's death by electrocution. The Doctor insists that they are dealing with an alien force with superior technology, but the Commandant wants some concrete proof. The very fellow the Doctor believes can provide that proof walks in and takes his station. "I think it's just come in!" He indicates the man, "Do you mind if I question him? I think I know how to make him talk." The Commandant does not stop him, but he does follow him over to the controller while the Doctor taps him on the shoulder and pulls the black and white sheaths from his pockets, "You know what this is, don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh I think you do. Roll up your sleeve."

He turns to his boss, "Do I have to take orders from him, sir?"

"I think perhaps you should explain, Doctor. After all, this man is working for me."

The Doctor shakes his head, "You only think he's working for you! Commandant, your personnel are being systematically replaced. And this is how they're doing it. This is not Meadows; it only looks like Meadows. He's wearing one of these things on his arm."

"Very well, do as he asks." At the fellow's protest he orders, "We all have to help in this, Meadows. Roll up your sleeve."

The man knows he has been cornered, and he tries to fool them by going along with it for a second as a feint then tries a run for the door. The Doctor hollers, "STOP HIM!" The Commandant's assistant tosses a chair into his path and he trips. Two of the other technicians pick him up and follow the boss's order to pin him to a chair, while another follows the command to get the police. The Doctor then tells the technician on the left side, "Roll up his left sleeve." Doing this reveals a black sheath on his arm. "There we are." He grips the man's wrist and studies the active controls, "Now then. What happens if I were to turn one of these?"

This throws the man into a panic, "Don't touch it!" He jerks his arm out of the Doctor's grip and cradles the sheath protectively.

"Ah, I see. Right. Now then, you are going to answer all my questions. And in return, I promise no harm will come to you. Do you understand?" The man nods meekly. "Where are your planes taking all their passengers?"

"There's a... satellite, about a hundred and fifty miles up."

"Why are you abducting all these young people?"

"We had a catastrophe on our planet. A gigantic explosion. As you've seen, we have lost our identities. My people are dying out! Our scientists devised a process so that we could take on the physical characteristics of another being."

The Doctor points to the sheath, "This is part of the process?"

"Yes, that's why you mustn't touch it."

"How many of these young people do you hope to abduct?"

"This time - Fifty thousand."

The sheer size of the operation in progress shocks everyone. But they press on, discovering that the passengers are miniaturized while on the flight, and that this one fellow does not know how many of his people are working here but that their bodies are hidden someplace at the airport. He does know that the nurse is one of them, however, and that her original is someplace inside the medical center. The Doctor forces the Chameleon to go with him to the medical center to rescue the original nurse. Once they arrive the Doctor discovers that Sam has been tied up in the room where the nurse keeps her original. He frees the girl and finds the real nurse. Before he can free her the chameleon pulls a ray gun and kills the officer in charge of her. Seeing no other way to stop her the chameleon version of Meadows rips the white sheath off the human nurse's arm. This causes the fake nurse to implode into a blob of protoplasm with a black sheath in the center of it. Sam is all quite shaken by the events. But then she remembers… "Doctor, what's happened to Jamie? Doctor, Jamie wasn't anywhere near the kiosk the last time... LOOK YOU'RE NOT LISTENING. I THINK THEY'VE GOT JAMIE!"

"Jamie! Where?!"

"Well you should know. You got him to pinch me ticket!"

"Pinch your ticket?" The Doctor says confused.

"To stop me from going to Rome."

"Oh you mean Jamie..."

"Has gone in my place." Sam tells him.

This dismays the little man a great deal, "First Polly and Ben, and now Jamie. We've no time to lose." He leads her out of the room, taking a stack of files with him. They head back to Air Traffic Control. He shows the files to the Commandant. There are twenty-five airport personnel that have been taken over. The Doctor also finds out that the last flight of the season is due to leave in an hour. He quickly outlines a plan that involves he and the nurse going on that flight, while the workers at the airport look for the original missing humans.

The Doctor and the nurse are allowed to board the last plane as the pilot believes the story. The flight has only twenty-five people on it, most of which wear airport uniforms. The plane arrives. They are then directed to report to the accommodation center for instructions as to where they will be housed. But… Blade has indeed suspected them, and as they break away from the group to look around he comes up and tells them, "You two won't be needing living space." They are surrounded by unprocessed Chameleons on the pilot's orders.

The Doctor tries to bluff his way out of the situation, "Captain Blade, what is this? I don't understand. We're here to stay, aren't we?"

"Oh yes, you're here to stay - but not in your present state."

"I'm very sorry, I simply don't understand what you mean."

The fellow gives them both a cold smile, "I checked with the Medical Center. You're both human. We want you intact. That's why I allowed you to come here. I want your brain." With that he motions to the guards to march the pair to the director's office.

There the Doctor discovers what has happened to Crossland. He's been used as the original for the Director. He also discovers what has happened to his Jamie. "Oh."

"What did you hope to achieve here?" the Director asks.

The Doctor meets his eyes without fear, "A chance to plead with you for the lives of fifty thousand young people."

At this the Director gets a surprised expression, "They're only human beings."

"And what are you?" the Doctor tosses back at him.

"We are the most intelligent race in the universe," the man declares with arrogance.

The Doctor makes a face. The Chameleon version of Jamie turns and announces, "Freiburg flight has just taken off."

At this the Doctor calls, "Why, Jamie!"

"You wish to speak to me?" he asks.

The expression that the Doctor gets is very, very upset. His mental broadcast that the real Jamie would pick up is not registered at all. "Oh no, of course, it's... it's not my Jamie. You're a Chameleon. Well, I don't think you've done a very good job on him. You lost his Scots accent in the processing. Oh I much preferred the original."

It almost works, "If you're looking for your friend's original, Doctor, you won't find it in here. No, it's... in a safe place. Not far from here." He then turns to Blade, "By the way Captain Blade, congratulations on bringing this man here. I personally will decide which of our people is to have his identity."

"It'll be one of your friends, I've no doubt!" he looks over at the nurse, "Well it's understandable. The... the special people up here feel more secure if their originals are actually in the satellite."

"Be quiet."

The Doctor ignores the order and looks at Blade, "The Director has nothing to worry about because his original, Detective Inspector Crossland is actually on board. But ah... where's your original?" He then looks at the other man that is in the room who was on the last flight, "And where's yours?"

Snapping, the Director tries to shut the Doctor up, "That's enough! Their originals are perfectly safe. Hidden on Gatwick Airport, where they will never be found." The man then leaves the room in a huff.

Blade and his associate are slowly cornering the Doctor and backing him toward the machine, "What did you mean about our originals?"

"Well, as I see it, there are two categories. People like your Director and that man over there..." with that he indicates the fake Jamie "...whose originals are safe on board here. And then there are people like you two, whose originals have been left behind at Gatwick airport. If they're tampered with... you're finished!"

This causes Blade to ponder things for a moment, "He's lying. Come on, let's get him into the machine before the Director returns."

But the Doctor has planted a seed of doubt. Now to water it, "Yes, you'd better process me quickly, because any minute now you'll cease to exist. You're first on the list!"

The pilot pauses, "What list?"

"Oh surely you understand! We've found all of the originals. The Commandant at the Airport is going to deprocess them one by one, starting with you, unless I stop him."

"He's bluffing," the other man says uneasily.

Blade orders, "Wait! Where did you find the originals?"

The Doctor waves aside the question, "Ah, that I can't tell you. But they'd been searching for some time and just as I was about to board the aircraft I got a signal, which meant that they'd been successful. Otherwise I wouldn't have come." This makes both men nervous, "Well, if you don't believe me, check with Gatwick Airport. I imagine you know its radio frequency?"

It's enough for Blade to order the station to contact the airport. What they hear is that the 'property' has been found although the humans refuse to say where it was hidden. The Director returns, furious at the Doctor's success and orders the communications closed. The Doctor buys some additional time for the workers on the ground by causing the processing panel to short. In the resulting time it takes to get the equipment replaced most of the other twenty-one members of the last flight have come into the Director's office. It's enough time for the humans on the ground to have found the originals. When the call up to the Chameleon base is ignored they demonstrate by removing one of the white sheaths from the arm of the immigration officer. His double dissolves into a pile of goo. Blade plucks up the black sheath; "They have found them! They weren't bluffing."

"His equipment could have gone wrong."

The Doctor butts in, "By the time your scientists tell you that there's nothing wrong with that, you'll all have disintegrated, except of course the Director."

The Director tries to debate his way through this, but Blade has decided who he believes, "Contact Gatwick Air Control." He holds his gun on the Director.

"Destroy the transmitter." But the fake Jamie finds he has a gun trained on him as well. He cannot follow the Director's command if he wants to live. Instead he contacts the airport.

The Commandant's voice shortly states, "The originals were discovered in a car park. To prove it, we have already eliminated one of your personnel. A man. I now wish to speak to the Doctor. Unless I hear his voice immediately, the next to be eliminated will be Captain Blade." Blade orders the release of the Doctor, quite willing to kill the Director at this point. The Doctor gets to his feet as he's released, and asks that the nurse be released too. Blade does not argue the point as the Commandant's voice repeats, "I said I wished to speak to the Doctor, otherwise the next will be Captain Blade." Blade begs him to go to the microphone.

The Doctor first makes sure the nurse is ok. Then he crosses over to the mike, "Commandant, this is the Doctor speaking. Stand by while I negotiate." The Commandant expresses relief at the sound of the Doctor's voice. The Time Lord turns back to the Director, "Now then, I will tell you my terms. I will guarantee your continued existence, if you will return to Earth all the young people you abducted."

"They've all been miniaturized. The equipment to reverse it is on our home planet." The Director says.

Blade narrows his eyes, "He's lying. The planes themselves are the miniaturization chambers and they work both ways." His expression becomes thoughtful, "What kind of continued existence would we have, Doctor?"

"In your former state, I'm afraid. Your scientists will have to find some other way out of your dilemma." The twenty with originals held hostage overrule the Director and accept the proposal.

The Director protests, "You fools, how can you trust him?" he tries to run for the door and the fake Jamie attempts to cover for him. Blade shoots them both.

The Doctor forces the pain aside and steps up to the microphone, "Commandant, are you still there?" He receives a yes before continuing, "Negotiations have been successfully concluded as arranged. Please stay listening out on this frequency. I am leaving Captain Blade in charge of the radio. I will call you again." Then he turns to Blade; "I need to find my three friends, Brian Briggs, and the Inspector. Do you know where they are?"

"Yes."

"You will take me to them."

Blade leads the Doctor to the location where his friends are, "Over here." He points, "I don't know which one."

The Doctor opens a box, without hesitation. Jamie is inside. The lad opens his eyes, "Doctor!"

"Jamie! Ha, I'm glad to see you alive." He grips the young man by the arm and pulls him out of the box, "Well come along out. You look like a soldier in a sentry box standing there!" The tingle and something _else_ snaps back into place, easing an ache that the Doctor hadn't been aware of. Jamie wraps his arms around the dark haired man and hangs on for dear life, nuzzling his face into the man's tousled hair. The connection between them sparks and surges. The Doctor pauses and wraps his arms around the lad, "We'll need to do something about this, my boy. But it can wait, I've got you and everything is going to be ok."

"How... how do you mean?"

The Doctor moves him over to a chair, "I'll explain to you one day. Sit down." He reluctantly lets go and moves to see who else is here. He finds Crossland next. Jamie spots Blade and jumps to his feet in alarm, "It's all right, he's a friend. Now sit down while I find the others. Ah! Inspector Crossland. " It takes some time but he does find Ben and Polly. Blade makes sure that the planes start reversing the process and that the young people are returned. The Doctor joins them on the first flight along with the nurse. Crossland remains behind on the station to make sure everyone is returned. But before the Doctor goes he gives Blade a packet of information he's worked out that will help his people regain identities without resorting to the likes of this sort of scheme again. It's very nearly the next day when everything is restored. The four are given a ride to where the TARDIS was stored. The Doctor thanks the driver and heads off following the traces of his Ship's call. Only… she's not there. He comes back with a poker face on, but Jamie can feel that he's surprised and angered.

Polly calls, "Hey, Doctor, where are you going? Doctor…."

Ben echoes her, "Hey, come back. What are you doing?"

The little rumpled man nearly passes them, "Doing. I'm looking for the TARDIS."

"Oh no, can't we stay in London a bit?" Polly says.

Ben nods in agreement, "Yeah, it's good to feel normal again."

But that was right, wasn't it? They wanted to go home, and his Ship had gotten them home. The Doctor gives them a sad and slightly hurt look, but then he knows… "Normal? What do you mean, Ben?"

"Well, no monsters, or Cybermen. All this - it's normal. I understand it."

The Time Lord is unable to resist the tease, "Do you? What about Chameleon Tours?"

"Oh yeah, that was different!"

Jamie tucks himself closer to the Doctor, feeling that he's distressed, "Oh I'll be glad to get away from here. Can you not land us in a nice civilized place like 1750?"

"What's so uncivilized about 1966?" Polly asks.

"Oh, you can keep it!" Jamie tells her.

Ben gasps, "Did you say 1966." Polly nods. "What month is it?"

The Doctor says quietly, "It's July. July the 20th, to be precise. At 10: 45 PM"

Polly looks puzzled, but Ben blinks at the Doctor. "You – planned this?" The little man scruffs his shoe into the black top. Ben turns to Polly, "Don't you see, Duchess? July the 20th, 1966 is when it all began! We're back to when it all started! Well, I think..."

"That means it's as... it's as if we've never been away!"

The Doctor smiles at them, seeing the joy in their faces. He's sad to leave them, but yet… it is their time. "I brought you home, just like I promised I would. I know you really need to be here. You want to – and should – go back to your lives."

Ben can see the sorrow in the Doctor's sometimes gray and sometimes brown eyes, "Well, we won't leave, Doctor, if you really need us."

Polly starts to plead with him to understand, but the thing is, he does. "No. Polly, Sweetheart. I brought you home. This is where you belong. Just -- Ben can catch his ship and become an Admiral and you Polly; you can look after Ben. Just like it is meant to be." He gives them a huge grin. "It's all right. Off you go!"

The young woman has tears in her eyes, "I will." She hugs the Doctor; "I'll never forget you." Then she hugs Jamie; "You will be safe, won't you?"

The Scotsman declares, rather gruffly, "I'll look after him."

Ben shakes his hand, "I'm sure you will, mate." Then he has to pause as Polly hugs the Doctor yet again, before shaking the little rumpled man's hand, "Goodbye Doctor."

"Ben."

"We might see you sometime. Take care."

"Well you'd better hurry. The Commandant's car's waiting."

The pair pauses right before getting in the car, glancing back one last time. There's no regret in their faces, just sorrow. They know that they will never see the Doctor again. Or at the very least if they do they won't recognize him. Jamie sighs as the car leaves, "I'm sad to see them go."

"Yes Jamie, so am I." The Doctor sighs, "Well, we've got things to do. I didn't tell the others but... we've lost the TARDIS!"

Jamie gapes at him, "We can't have done. You mean somebody's stolen it?"

"I don't know, but that's what we're going to find out! Come on!" And with that the Doctor takes his arm and they set off to locate their missing time ship. Neither has any idea what the future will bring, one because he can't see it, the other because he refuses to look. But it doesn't matter. They have each other, and that is all they need.


	7. We'll run away if we must

A/N: _This is a detailed side story for my Doctor Who AU 'Verse. It's 'All About' Jamie and the Doctor. How they met, what adventures they had, and finally why they were parted. It's a prequel to __**Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse **__even though I'm writing it now, and mean it to be read in conjunction with __**Doctor Who and the Tangled Web**__. This is meant for those folks with no exposure to the second Doctor. This chapter covers the serial "Evil of the Daleks". Scenes that don't have either the Doctor or Jamie directly involved will not be included. Transcripts of the episodes are used as reference for dialogue, along with photonovels where the BBC has lost / destroyed them. Inspiration and Titles come from the T.a.t.u song "All About Us" that was used for the video featuring this ship. See __**TARDIS Parking**__ for the links to both Transcripts and video.  
Laura Harkness, my single reviewer for the last chapter… I'm very glad you liked it. Here's the answer._

Part Six

_We'll run away if we must, 'Cause ya know, It's all about love_

The odd little man in his slightly over sized rumpled frock coat and sky blue wing collar shirt reached out and took the hand of a slightly taller lad in a red tartan kilt. It was as natural as breathing, this casual contact between them. Most folks might assume that the pair were father and son for how normal they made it look. But James Robert McCrimmon and the other man known only as the Doctor were far more familiar with one another than their panicked touch would lead an observer to believe. Behind those clasped hands flowed a psychic connection that made it possible for the alien Doctor to function without his time ship – which was currently missing. It was more than being emotionally settled. The Doctor was bonded to his living craft no matter how he tried to deny it and now he couldn't sense her.

The strange pair came around the corner of the hanger where the Doctor's TARDIS should have been stored only to spot a lorry driving away from it on the far side, the blue police box secured to the back. For the briefest of moments the Time Lord feels his ship give him a panicked cry that seems to be strangled off. Something is blocking their connection. In alarm, he jerks away from the Scotsman who is at the same moment recoiling like he's been slapped. "Jamie!" The dark haired man, fully flustered now, indicates the vehicle, knowing there's no way for them to stop it.

"The TARDIS!" exclaimed the Scotsman. Aghast, the two men watch the vehicle depart, a feeling of despair creeping into the Time Lord's hearts. It's Jamie that saves them from sinking into full out depression. He spots something else that might yield some clues, "Doctor!" He caught the older man by the coat and indicated the open door to the hanger where he can see that there's another fellow in coveralls who looks like an airport worker. What Jamie fails to note is that the coveralls don't fit very well; the Doctor more than makes up for this flaw in his younger companion's observation skills, however. This man is listening to a radio, which is rather loud, while he sits and fiddles with some mechanical contraption or another.

Since they were unable to catch the lorry the next step, logically, is to find out where the vehicle was going. One way or another they will do just that. The Doctor figures that there must be records that they can use to find that out. He draws Jamie inside the hanger and approaches the man in oddly fitted coveralls, "Excuse me!" He finds that he must shout over the radio, "I wonder if you could help us?"

The badge on the front of the coverall's says 'Hall' but the Doctor does not assume that is who he's speaking to. 'Hall' looks up after the Doctor taps his arm, "Eh? My mate likes the wireless turned on at full blast," He gestured to the battered radio on the bench. "I have to keep this turned down," He shows the Doctor his hearing aid.

"Oh, I see," the dark haired man nodded.

With that Hall moves toward the radio to turn it down. Jamie leans over to the Doctor, "Who's taken the TARDIS?"

Quickly covering what Jamie has said, the little man says to Hall, "He means the police telephone box."

For his trouble he gets an odd look and Hall replying, "He said 'TARDIS' or something."

"Yes. Well, TARDIS... That's, uh... That's another name for it," the Doctor said.

"Oh, foreign is he?"

At this Jamie prickles, "Me, foreign? You're the one that's foreign! I'm Scottish!"

"Uh, that's right. TARDIS is a... is a Gaelic word," the dark haired fellow is slightly flustered, and he turns to the piper and whispers, "Jamie, hush!"

To this he gets back a whispered, "It's getting further away all the time!"

Patting Jamie on the arm he says, "Yes, I know." Then he turns back to Hall and continues, "Well anyway, it's... it's our property and we've come to collect it."

"Oh, you mean the... uh, the police box?"

"Yes!" The Doctor says to the man who he is thinking is rather dim at the moment.

The fellow's next words don't change his assessment, either, "Yeah. Well, uh... Well, that's gone."

Jamie butts in, "Oh, we know it's gone. That's the whole point. It's ours and somebody's stolen it!"

"Ah, well, I don't know about that. I got a note here somewhere," Hall says as he turns to a huge amount of paperwork that is scattered about a buried desk before he finds a clipboard that is filled to overflowing with yellowed pages and a single new clean sheet of blue paper. "Yeah, here we are. There," he reads from the blue note, "'Police Tel. Box. Collection: 3 o'clock'."

The Doctor takes the note, "Let me see this please."

"Been signed for." Hall says.

"Oh, yes. So I see. Er... 'J Smith'. Doesn't really help us, does it?" The little dark haired man frowns.

"Yeah. Well, I just do what I'm told. Better see the airport commandant or someone."

At this suggestion the Doctor has to fight cringing, "Oh, no. I... I don't think we'd better do that. Um, Jamie, I think we'd better talk to the police."

Getting the police involved is clearly not what Hall wants, "Of course I, um... I do know the name of the firm what picked it up." Even as Jamie is speaking he says, "Yeah, firm name of, uh... Leatherman."

"Thank you very much. You'll be hearing from us," the Doctor says as he drags Jamie away.

The Scottish piper allows the tugging to almost pull him outside while he ponders the name, "Leatherman. Now that's a clue. Just a minute. Now, what street do they...? Doctor, wait!" But the Doctor doesn't listen, preferring to get them both outside. Jamie looks at him; "We should have followed that clue he gave us."

"Perhaps. I think we'd better keep an eye on him."

Jamie notices that the Doctor is quite intent on his observation of the hanger, "Why?"

"Well, didn't you notice his overalls? They were much too small for him, and the top sheet of his clipboard was different to all the others, and when we mentioned the police, he became friendly!"

"Aye. Hey, may..." Jamie finds himself interrupted by the Doctor pulling them both out of sight of 'Hall' who has just emerged wearing a rather spiffy outfit. He peeks around the machinery and then shoots the dark haired man a questioning look. The Doctor nods and they set off to follow 'Hall'. The trail takes them to the airport car park where they observe the man getting into a car and driving off.

"That's him. There he goes." The Doctor flags down a taxi as Jamie makes a sound of dismay, "For hire!" The Time Lord ushers Jamie into the vehicle and orders the driver, "Follow that car!" This leads into a merry chase, but the cab driver is good as his job. They end up outside a warehouse just past Kings Cross Station next to 'Hall's' car. The Doctor pays the fare and looks at Jamie; "This is his car. He must be around here somewhere."

They scout about the warehouse, not seeing anyone. Jamie finally discovers a door, "Doctor?"

After a moment the Time Lord joins his companion and asks, "Well, have you tried the door?" Jamie shakes his head then takes the following silence as permission to check it. The handle turns and they enter the warehouse. It doesn't take them long to locate 'Hall' who looks to have been knocked out. The man is sprawled on the floor. The Doctor checks him over, "Man in the overalls! It's all right. He's alive." Both he and Jamie try to rouse the man.

"Oh, dear..." he moans and tries to sit up, "Where's Ken..."

"Ken? Ken who?" The Doctor asks.

"Make him tell us where the TARDIS is!" Jamie insists. He dislikes being away from the time ship and stuck here in the 1960's.

Hall however lapses back into unconsciousness before the Doctor can do so. "No good, he's out cold. See if we can find some water somewhere." The Doctor gets to his feet and begins to search, "Hello, this is something. This really is something." He's found a makeshift table covered with money. "But, why pay him to help steal the TARDIS and then knock him on the head?"

"Well, why steal the TARDIS anyway?" Asks Jamie who is half-heartedly searching the place, not sure what he should be looking for in the first place, as everything here is strange to him.

The Time Lord makes a face, "That's what's been bothering me, Jamie, too."

The Scotsman returns to the Doctor's side, "There's no water here. Hey, that looks a lot of money, Doctor."

Without counting the Time Lord figures out loud, "It's between two and three hundred pounds. Yes, it is a lot, at least for what he had to do - put on a pair of overalls and just hang around. Come to think of it, why hang around? He was obviously planted. Why not just go off in the lorry?" Then he spots what could be some other clues – a pack of cigarettes and a matchbook on the windowsill contrasted with the half-smoked hand-rolled variety carelessly tossed to the floor near Hall.

Jamie notices the look on the Doctor's face, "You found something else?"

"I don't know." But – maybe. He searches Hall's pockets and comes up with a bundle of rolling papers, a matchbook, and a tin of tobacco. "Yes, this man rolled his own cigarettes, so these must belong to somebody else. That's a fair assumption."

Suddenly a loud whistle and the grinding of wheels disrupt the silence. This rattles Jamie, who is never heard anything like it before, "What's that?"

The Doctor places a hand on the lad to settle him, "It's all right. It's only a train."

Seeing that the little man is focused on his companion, and that the Scotsman is distracted, Hall silently gets to his feet and sneaks his way to the door. Jamie says, "A what?"

"Well, it's a train. There are carriages and they go on wheels, on rails, and they're drawn by a stea..." the Doctor glances over at Hall – or where Hall had been and notices that he's gone. Jamie spots the man just as he reaches the door. The Doctor shouts, "Hey, come back!"

Both men rush to catch the fellow but he gets out the door and bars it closed. Jamie reaches it first and can't budge it, "Well, give us a hand!" The Doctor pitches in to assist and they get the door open, but by then there's no sign of Hall at all, "Aw, not a sign of him. The only chance we had."

"There is this..." The Doctor holds up the matchbook for Jamie to see. It's the one that came from Hall's pocket. Then he reads the outside of it, "'The Tricolour'. It's a coffee bar apparently. And that's not all."

"Well, what else?" Jamie inquires.

Opening the matchbook the little dark haired man says, "Well, normally people pull out their matches from right to left. These have been torn out from left to right. We've got to find a coffee bar called 'The Tricolour' and look for a man called Ken or Kenneth - someone who's left-handed."

Bolstered by that, Jamie contends; "Now we've got something to go on!"

The Time Lord is not so sure. He knows something is up. Something is wrong. But he can't put a finger on it. There's a trap being sprung and he's pretty sure that the only way to get his TARDIS back is going to be to walk right into it. "But it's so little, Jamie. It's too little. He might only have been there once. There's no guarantee he'll ever go there again."

But Jamie isn't about to let him give up, not now that they have a lead. They end up doing some searching and find the coffee bar without too much trouble. The place is busy, noisy, and crowded. The waitresses are dressed as if they are selling a bit more than the menu, but since most of the patrons are young men, that really isn't too strange. The Doctor looks rather glum, but Jamie is taking everything in with interest. "Don't look so depressed, Doctor."

They are both on their umpteenth cup of coffee, thanks to 'Hall' who left all his money behind. "If only we knew what he looked like, Jamie."

The piper shrugs, "We'll ask one of the lasses in a moment, when things get quieter."

"We've got to untangle this, you know." Jamie nods in agreement with this before saying that he thinks it was just a common thief. But the Doctor is not so sure, "No, no, there's more to it than that. Why leave that man in the hangar to give us a clue? And furthermore, why give us a clue that is fake. There is no delivery firm with the name 'Leatherman'. Not in the London area, anyway. I checked in the phone book."

"But surely there's more places than London," Jamie says. The Time Lord concedes that it might be the case but there's something in his eyes and tone of voice that makes Jamie alert to other possibilities, "Do you think this is sort of a trap, Doctor?"

"Yes, but if only we knew who our enemies are..."

"Not the Chameleons again!"

The Doctor shakes his head, "No, something else. I can feel them, closing in all around us."

Once things do quiet down the Doctor urges Jamie over to speak with one of the waitresses. The blonde he ends up speaking with rather seems to want to get inside his kilt with him and since the only one he wants there is the Doctor the entire thing ruffles up his feathers a bit. As soon as he's gotten an answer from her he begs off her advances and returns to his Time Lord. Sliding back into his seat he says, "Oh, if only the laird could see that! Why do I get all the difficult tasks, Doctor?"

Taking pity on the lad the Doctor tells him, "Because you're so much better at them than I am, Jamie. What did you find out?"

Jamie blushes slightly at the underhanded compliment then reveals the information; "None of the lasses here could remember anybody called Ken or Kenneth." The Doctor's dismay makes him rush to add, "But, they do have a different lot on duty in the evening. Now, maybe they'll know."

It's at this point that the Doctor notices that someone is giving him a very intense look over. Quite bothered by this he says, "Jamie, I'm being stared at. Is there something wrong with me?"

The piper points to his own head and teases, "You mean up here Doctor?"

"Is my hair in disarray?"

Sensing that perhaps his friend is serious, Jamie blinks and says, "Well, no more than usual."

"Do I look strange or bizarre?"

Jamie smirks, "Aye. Well, maybe I'm just used to you."

_Jamie_, the Doctor scolds him.

_I'm just teasing, Thete_.

"That's some comfort. Look out, he's coming over."

The young man walks up to the table that had been staring at them, "I beg your pardon. It is Dr. Galloway, isn't it? ...and Mr. McCrimmon."

Jamie ponders the name 'Dr Galloway' but confirms, "Aye, I'm Jamie McCrimmon."

The Doctor has remained silent. The young man says, "My card."

This he offers to the Doctor, who takes it with, "Yes, uh... Mr. Perry?"

"Mr. Waterfield's frightfully sorry, but he can't meet you as arranged."

Although he's totally confounded for once Jamie stays quiet while his Doctor plays along with the fellow as if he knows what is going on, "Oh. Oh, dear. What a pity."

Mr. Perry continues, "But, he says if you'd care to come to the shop at about, uh... ten tonight, he'll see to you personally."

"At about 10. Oh, yes, uh... We'll be there." This pleases the young man and he leaves. The Doctor waits until he's gone and then looks at the man's card, "'Edward Waterfield: Genuine Victoriana'."

"Can't be a mistake. Even though he got your name wrong, he knew mine."

Fiddling with the card the Doctor ponders, "I wonder if Mr. Kenneth has found us." Jamie leans closer with a question on his lips and the dark haired man reads off the rest of the information, " 'K. Perry Esquire'. Yes, I think we'll go and see Mr. Edward Waterfield."

They have a number of hours before the meeting, and really it would be bad to spend that time sitting in the coffee bar. The Doctor takes Jamie to a hotel for the duration, one that is rather nice. He doesn't know if they are stuck here or not but the amount of pounds taken from the warehouse leaves him feeling like he's got the cash to spare. Feeling jittery and nervous, the dark haired man ushers Jamie into the room and closes the door. Jamie looks around in delight at the room. The Time Lord paces. He must admit that if he'd bonded tighter to his ship as she wanted he'd be in much worse shape right now. As it is it's impossible for him to be still. He starts to pace.

Jamie quickly catches on to how upset this has made his Thete. He catches the man as he paces past, "You do a good job hiding how much this bothers you. Maybe too much so. It's gonna be fine. We'll get her back." _Come on Thete, let me in. Let me help._

_I just need to be grounded, is all. _

_Um…_ Jamie turns the older man around and works his fingers into his shirt. _Think I can manage that. _He gets the layers of clothing off and puts his lips to work on the sensitive spot over the Doctor's clavicle.

Stars explode. _Oh – Jamie!_

_Let me in, Stubborn fool._

At this the mental shields fall away and both of them find it impossible to separate one from the other. It's perfectly all right with them to be this way. Only slowly do they slide back into two individual beings once they have given and taken and the Doctor is grounded and can function again. The effort exhausts the Scottish piper and the Time Lord finds himself watching over the younger man's sleeping form. After about four hours he rouses the lad and they straighten up.

Then the unlikely pair set off to locate the store run by Edward Waterfield. It's set up in the front part of the man's house. When they arrive the front door is open, in spite the late hour. And although they are early the Doctor wants to get a good look around. He's tried to make Jamie understand without scaring the lad and has been less than successful, as Jamie is talking even as he quiets the bell so that their entrance is unannounced, "I don't know what you're being so cautious abo--"

"Shhh!"

This works to get the piper to lower his voice, "They left the door open for us, didn't they? Hey, it's half past the nine o'clock."

"Yes, I know."

Jamie frowns, "But they made the appointment for ten. Why have we come early?"

"The early bird catches the worm, Jamie. Now, do be quiet, there's a good chap. And for heaven's sake, don't knock into anything." Of course it would be the Doctor doing the knocking over. Jamie quickly catches the statue before it falls and gets hushed again for his efforts.

Something is not right about this place. He's got a funny feeling around the stuff here for sale, in fact. "Any good, this?" He asks as he holds up a Victorian item that looks brand new.

"It's interesting. In fact, Jamie, it's quite remarkable."

"Hey Doctor, you know you told me outside it said "Genuine Victorian Antiques"? Well, all the stuff in here's brand new." To this the Doctor nods. "I say this Waterfield's a rogue."

"Yes, so it seems. Except..." the Time Lord trails off a moment then finishes the thought, "Except that all these things are not reproductions. They're all genuine."

"Now, that's ridiculous!" Jamie looks around then frowns; "I've got an idea." The Doctor encourages him to share. "All the stuff in here is genuine... but brand new. But that is impossible unless Waterfield could've invented a time machine like the TARDIS, Doctor, and he's bringing all this stuff back from Victorian times."

The Time Lord beams at him, "Well done, but it's not very likely, is it? The only way to find out is to ask Waterfield." They move toward a nearby door only to hear a shout from further in the house. The pair rush that direction and find that the door is locked, "I'm sure I heard somebody shouting. Jamie, we've got to get in there."

Jamie finds a bit of wire, "What about the wire?"

"No, it's too pliable." Then his ears catch another noise and he hushes Jamie again. After a moment the young man from the Coffee Bar tries to sneak in. The Doctor pops out at him, "Boo!"

This makes the newcomer nearly jump through the roof, "Oh! What are you doing here?"

The Doctor fixes the man with a raised eyebrow, "You made the appointment."

"For ten o'clock," the man retorts.

"Yes, well, we thought we'd be early. What are you doing here?" the dark haired Tine Lord shoots back at him.

He becomes defensive, "I work here."

Jamie has been observing but now speaks up, "Then what are you creeping about for?" This flusters the man and he casts about for a reason but can't come up with one. To his non-committal noise the Scotsman gives a knowing, "Aye..."

"Yes, I think you've got some explaining to do, Mr. Kenneth Perry!" the Doctor proclaims.

But Mr. Perry effectively takes the wind out of his sails with, "My name isn't Kenneth, it's Keith. Now look - I... I don't understand."

The Doctor takes the changed information in stride, pondering out loud, "So, it's Keith. Hmm. Do you know a man called Hall?" To this Perry informs him that Hall is a man under Waterfield's employ. He's still confused however. "Well, he keeps some very rough company, including a man called Ken," the little stranger tells him.

"Ken? Kennedy?" Perry questions.

"What? What do you know about Kennedy?" It is a redirection attempt, but Perry does not fall for it.

"Oh, wait a minute. This is all too quick for me. Look, I'll answer your questions, if you'll answer mine." So the scream is forgotten for the moment as the Doctor and Jamie exchange information with Perry. They discover that the TARDIS is there when the fellow says, "This old police box was for a collector of curios."

"But it belongs to me!" the Doctor tells the man, "It's vital I get it back because of what's inside it and because it happens to be my property!"

Perry doesn't seem to understand that this is a theft and is still struggling with the whys of the situation. Jamie steps in and demands, "Look, where is it?"

"At the back."

Determined now the Doctor demands, "Well, is there another way through? This door is locked." They are told that they might be able to get to it by going over the yard gates because the door they are trying has an electronic lock on it. Nearly frantic the Time Lord takes Perry by the arm and steers him toward the front of the store; "You're going to show me where this yard of yours is."

"I say, if it's a police box, shouldn't we get the police?"

Then Jamie spots an open door and points it out, "Doctor..." And even though he's frantic to get his TARDIS back he can't resist a mystery. They move through the open door into what looks to be a study. Inside is a body.

"That's Kennedy!" Perry tells them.

Quickly the Doctor moves over and checks the man for signs of life. If he didn't know better he'd swear that the man was struck with an – energy weapon from a distance of fifteen paces. "He's dead!" Dread fills his chest like a icy molten weight.

Behind him Perry runs for the phone. Jamie catches his arm, "What are you doing?"

"Getting the police," the man tells him, picking up the phone and frantically dialing the emergency number. The line does not connect, "What...?" He tries a second time before putting the phone down, "I don't think we ought to touch anything. I'll be as quick as I can." He exits the house in a run.

"Should we have let him go?" Jamie asks his Thete as the other man regains his feet.

"He's doing the right thing."

The Scottish piper catches the Doctor's arm, "But the TARDIS...?"

Patting the lad's hand the Time Lord nods, "Yes, we'll have to find it before he comes back. Now, I wonder what this telephone interference is."

"Looks like Waterfield's cleared out. Aw, come on Doctor, let's find the TARDIS and go!"

"Yes, yes, the TARDIS. Now, how did he die? His limbs are stiff; his hands clenched. Look, he died in horrible agony. Look at his face. Hello...?" He pries a picture of himself out of the man's clenched hand.

"What? It's your picture!" Jamie steps back to his side and begin paying more attention to the surroundings, getting caught up in the mystery here.

"Yes. Now, he fell like that with his arm stretched out. Jamie, go out into the hall and measure the length of it up to the door here." At this the lad sets to pacing, announcing fifteen as he reaches the hallway. The ever astute Time Lord says, "Well, it's only five from the door to the wall. There must be another room behind here."

This spurs them both into searching the bookshelf. For Jamie it's eerily like the last time they found a hidden room. Only this time there's books to move. He finally locates something, "Hey Doctor, there's a keyhole!"

"Yes, you're right. Now, Waterfield would have the key. We've got to find something to prise it open with." But before they can the door clicks open on it's own. This should make them suspicious. But the Doctor spots something that draws him in and Jamie is unwilling to let him go on his own. "Well, look at this. That's where your telephone interference is coming from. Oh, yes, this is interesting." It's a transmat machine. And the Doctor is pretty sure it is Skaro based technology.

Jamie spots something else and moves toward it, "Hey, the other half of your picture." The photo is stuck half in a box and the piper is already reaching for it.

Too late the Doctor responds, "Yes. Don't open that!" Because if it is Skaro-derived technology he's seeing here then whatever is in that box will knock him out – providing it's the trap he thinks it is. Jamie however has his hand already on the slip of photo paper and the lid of the box is already lifting – and the gas is escaping. The Scotsman falls first, being closer. He has time to think;_ Yes that's certainly a familiar odor…_ before he blacks out. The next thing he knows is he's in pain. "Oh, oh'ff, ohh, ohh, mmm..." There's a knock, like on a wooden door. Part of his brain informs him that his time ship is nowhere near. He's in too much pain to panic at the moment, however. Another part persistently pings that the time has changed, and his nose informs him that they must be in a sitting room at some point during the height of the Victorian era. If so they've been dragged a hundred years into the past.

There's the bustle of long skirts and the creak of a door punctuated by a pleasant female voice, "Hello sir. Are you feeling better? Oh, you did have a party last night, didn't you sir?" He forces open an eye to look at the young woman who giggles at the face he's making. "The master sent this in for you."

"The master? Mr. Waterfield?"

The rather pretty servant shakes her head, "Oh, no sir, Mr. Maxtible. Mr. Waterfield came back from abroad last night, sir, with you and the young gentleman. Don't you remember?"

"Not very well, no." He takes the drink he's being offered and realizes it's an antidote of some kind, tailored to the poison he and Jamie were hit with. It's effective from the first sip, "Oh!" The relief from the lack of pain is the most pleasurable thing he's felt aside from when he's with Jamie. His mind clears right up, showing him a tapestry of events and choices spread out in front of him from this point. It's curious that he's never paid attention to this before.

"I'd best not wake him," the young woman says as she looks over at the Scotsman.

The Doctor glances at Jamie too, spying choices and events that surround the young man like a shroud. The fate of much relies on what Jamie will choose to do in the next few days. So very much. More than should ever be settled on one man's shoulders. The Doctor does not want to know… he doesn't want to see this. There's so much darkness and pain possible in the future… it could go very, very badly if he's not very, very careful. He turns his eyes off his young companion and toward the maid, "What's your name?"

If his question surprises her it doesn't show much, "Mollie Dawson, sir."

The Doctor indicates the substance in the glass and says, "This, uh... works remarkably quickly, doesn't it?"

"Am I to pour some more?"

To this he shakes his head, "No. No thank you Mollie. But you... you can tell me what the date is."

She gives him a strange look, "The date?"

He can guess that they are in the 1860's by the decorations in the room, providing they are 'modern' to the times. He spots nothing that would indicate anything past 1870 or so, however that means little. "Yes, I... I... I'm feeling very much better, but I don't seem to be able to remember, ah... the date and where I am."

Before the young woman can answer another voice says, "Mollie -- that will do. The answers you require, sir, might come better from me. My name is Theodore Maxtible and I am the owner of this house." The Doctor attempts to gain his feet. Maxtible responds to this with, "Pray, don't get up. I have the greatest sympathy for your condition, since I was the cause of it."

The Doctor turns his attention from the wild haired and bearded man to the rather clean-cut one next to him, "And this is Mr. Edward Waterfield, I presume. You don't keep your appointments, do you?"

"There were circumstances..."

The Doctor cuts him off, "Yes, indeed there were!"

"Please, please Doctor. First things first. You asked what date it was and where you were." Maxtible steps in and tries to calm the fellow. He's been warned that an angered Doctor is a dangerous Doctor. He's got every reason to believe what he's been told. The rather comical looking fellow indicates for him to continue, focusing on him with an alien intensity that would be rather unsettling if not for who he is already dealing with, "You are in my house, some miles from Canterbury. The date is June the 2nd, eighteen hundred and sixty-six."

Not only are he and Jamie back in time by a hundred years, but they are back by a hundred years and six weeks or so. This translates out to a standard time unit for Skaro, the Doctor knows. He contains his anger, but just barely. "And just what do you think you're up to? You steal my property, you spirit Jamie and me a hundred years back in time and you murder a man along the way!"

"We had nothing to do with the death of that man. We are, all of us, the victims of a higher power. A power more evil and more terrible than the human brain can imagine." Maxtible tells him.

This he can believe, but he wants the foolish humans to tell him what is going on from their perspective, "Power? Victims? What do you mean?"

Waterfield says, "They've taken my daughter Victoria."

"Who are 'they'?" The Time Lord can feel who the enemy is, but playing stupid is the best way to outsmart them. He must do this very carefully. The path he needs to take is very narrow and fraught with danger for not only he and Jamie but the entire history of humanity as well.

"You will not be kept in suspense very much longer, Doctor. Pray, come with us and we will show you how it all began," the wild haired owner of the house says.

Waterfield begs, "Doctor, do whatever it is they ask, I beg of you. My daughter's life is in your hands."

He's moved by the plea, "I will listen. I... I... I promise." _Damn_. That rearranges everything. It puts Jamie in the direct line of fire. It makes the future much more narrow… No, he doesn't want to see this. The Doctor turns his eyes to the room and they settle on a painting, "Is, uh... is that your daughter?" Whoever the young woman is, there's no denying that she's beautiful.

"No sir. That is a painting of my wife as a young girl. She is dead now, rest her soul. But Victoria is the image of her," Waterfield tells him.

_Damn… Damn, damn, damn…_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The lab he's practically dragged into is rather a run-of-the-mill typical lab for the 1860's. It's well stocked but nothing to slather over. Maxtible seems proud of it though, "Here we are Doctor; this is hallowed ground. Here we shall not be disturbed by the servants."

He dislikes being away from Jamie. One of the side effects of the drug he's taken to clear off the poison is the lessening of his bond with the boy and it worries him that Jamie will think it's on purpose. He spares a quick glance around the room and notices the Skaro-based additions. He files this away, "Oh yes, yes, very impressive. And now, perhaps you'll explain what all this is about?"

The owner of the house clicks his tongue, "Your patience, my dear sir, a little longer."

But the Doctor really has reached the end of his rope, "Patience? You don't seem to understand what's happened - a man has been murdered! You behave as though we're going on Sunday-school outing!"

"Neither Waterfield nor I were responsible for his death. Here, cigar?"

This offer is ignored, "Why have you brought us here? Who are these enemies of yours - these ones you say control you?"

"Brilliant minds, Doctor," Maxtible says.

But Waterfield has another view; "They are monsters. Inhuman monsters! Creations of the devil!"

"Inhuman?" So he is dealing with the mutants, not the humanoids that were much less violent.

Maxtible tries to calm Waterfield, "Oh, I admit, Waterfield, they have behaved callously." The Doctor glares at him. "Let me explain. I have always been fascinated by the concept of travelling through time. Waterfield here is an expert in certain technical matters and I have the money to indulge my whims. Everything you see about you here was constructed by us two." This the Doctor knows is not a total truth.

"To try to find a way of exploring time?"

"Yes, now this is my theory: a mirror reflects an image, does it not?" At this the Time Lord nods, his face tight and his eyes dark. Maxtible does not notice. "So, you may be standing there, yet appear to be standing fifty feet away. Well, following the new investigations twelve years ago by J. Clark Maxwell into electromagnetism and the experiments by Faraday into static electricity..."

"Static?" That sinking feeling of lead in his gut is building again.

"Correct! Waterfield and I first attempted to refine the image in the mirror, and then to project it. In here, Doctor, are one hundred and forty-four separate mirrors," at this he steps over and opens the device of the primitive time travel device. Somehow they have stumbled upon the Dalek nexus of the time web and unlocked it. The Doctor sucks in a breath at the sensation of time flowing from the device.

Waterfield is rather proud of his accomplishment, in spite the nightmare that has resulted from it, "And each is of polished metal. Each is subjected to electric charges - all positive."

"Like repels like in electricity, Doctor, and so next, Waterfield and I attempted to repel the image in the mirror, wherever we directed."

"You mentioned static electricity?"

"Uh... that was our last experiment. Negative and positive electricity had failed, so we tried static. If only we could have known the powers we were going to unleash," Waterfield says. At the Doctor's prompt he continues, "In the middle of our final test with static, creatures burst out of the cabinet, invaded the house, took away my daughter. We had opened the way for them with our experiments. They forced me into the horror of time travel, Doctor. They ordered me to steal a box belonging to you and thus lure you into a trap and transport you here, together with your colleague Mr. McCrimmon."

"Oh, my dear fellow. My dear, dear fellow. But we shall win through, now that the Doctor is here," Maxtible places a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"These creatures...?" the Doctor starts, "They knew about me, these creatures?"

"They gave us likenesses," Maxtible confirms.

Waterfield looks apologetic, "What could I do? They said my daughter would die."

The Doctor grabs Waterfield and shakes him, "What are they called, these creatures?" It might be a bit of overkill, but he does it all the same.

But before the man can answer the doors on the primitive time transport open and a Dalek glides out. It fixes the Time Lord with its eyestalk. "Doctor, now do you understand?" the creature's mechanical voice grates at him.

He releases Waterfield and fixes Maxtible with a glare, "Oh, yes. Perfectly." The cards in his future, the options he has, rearrange themselves into an order that gives him just one path. He's unhappy about it. One wrong move and the entire universe goes to pot.

"Move back. Our plan has worked. We shall triumph! You will obey! You will obey!" the Dalek gloats.

"Obey? Obey? What do you want?"

The creature tells him, "We have your time ship. We will destroy it unless you help us with an experiment. You will help the Daleks test another human being."

"What experiment?" the Doctor demands. "What sort of test?"

"Do not question!"

"I will not be your slave!"

Waterfield steps in, "Doctor, I beg you..."

"No harm will come to you if you agree. Where is your companion?"

"He is in the house. I have done everything you asked me to." Waterfield tells the metal clad mutant

"Jamie?" the Doctor turns from one to the other, "Why do you ask about Jamie?"

"He is the human being who is to be tested."

"What do you mean? Tested how?" the worry is evident on the Time Lord's face. Waterfield sees it even if the Dalek and Maxtible do not.

"Silence! You will reveal nothing to your companion. Obey the Daleks! You are in our power!" the Dalek orders before exiting back into the transport.

The small dark haired Time Lord in the scruffy oversized clothes is fighting his urge to strangle these two stupid, petty, childish apes! He turns on them, "What have you done with your infernal meddling?" He studies the contraption they have made closer as he batters them with questions, "What is this test? Do either of you know?"

While Waterfield states he does not have any idea Maxtible reveals that he's talked with the Daleks more and might just know what they are after, "I believe I do. They... I mean the Daleks, tell me they have always been defeated by human beings. Possibly because of some factor, possessed by human beings...that is absent in Daleks. Perhaps they want to find out what it is and transplant it into their race."

The Doctor says nothing, other than encouraging the man to spill what he knows. This conjecture alarms Waterfield, "But if they do, do that, allied with their own alien intelligence, they'll be invincible! Maxtible, you should've..."

His worries are brushed aside, "Oh, my dear fellow. I am merely surmising. I know nothing definite. But, besides, what could we have done? Even if I had known for certain, the fact was, nay is, they hold your daughter Victoria."

After a moment the Doctor closes his eyes, his anger all but spent, "And now they've got Jamie."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie knows, even before he opens his eyes that something is not right. There's a weight over him, a light one, but it faintly smells of tobacco and lavender. It's being straightened, and he can smell a woman doing the fussing. The scent of honey and musk, the one thing that anchors him, is very distant. Even the buzz of his Thete's mind against his is dimmed and dulled. The woman says, "Oh, I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to wake you. There." Her words break off into a pleasant laugh as he struggles against the weight of his own limbs and the quilt besides. His head spins in a most unwelcome manner.

"Oh, it's not funny. Ohh, ohh," he groans out.

A glass is pressed into his hand; "The master left this for you to drink, sir. This'll clear away the cobwebs. Here you are, sir." He does not question, taking the offered substance at face value. He feels better once the draught is consumed, but notes that the mental link he has with the Doctor seems even thinner than before.

"Where's the Doctor? Oh."

"He's with the master and Mr. Waterfield, sir," the servant tells him.

Jamie feels far less in pain but he's still very fuzzy. His further questions are overlooked when another woman comes into the room and orders the maid out. He blinks at the new arrival as she says, "Please, Mr. McCrimmon."

"You know my name?"

"My father told me that you and your friend arrived last night with Mr. Waterfield."

Jamie shakes his head, "Waterfield? Your father? I'm sorry but I seem to be having great difficulty in remembering anything."

She settles down on the chair near where he's sitting, "He owns this house. I'm his daughter, Ruth Maxtible."

"How do you do? Have you seen the Doctor this morning?"

"He's talking with my father. He'll be along presently. Do you have everything you need?" Jamie nods to this and Ruth continues, "Mollie shall bring you some tea in a minute."

"I'm obliged to you. Uh... Miss Maxtible? Could you tell me who that is in the portrait?" Jamie indicates the same painting the Doctor had asked about before.

Ruth looks that direction, "That's a portrait of Mr. Waterfield's late wife. His daughter looks just like her. You're quite comfortable?"

"She was very lovely. His daughter must be too. Thank you." With that Ruth stands back up and exits the room. Jamie stands up and does a quick search of the room until he locates a letter with the date on it, "Eighteen sixty-six! So that's what Waterfield's done." But he has little time to ponder this before he feels a sharp pain against the back of his skull and his knees give way as blackness takes him again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor is set to head back to Jamie at this point. He needs the lad. He needs to touch him. The dulling of their link from the boy's side of it is enough to make him feel very depressed. Waterfield catches him before he can exit the room, "Doctor, I do ask you to consider."

"I have made up my mind."

Maxtible cuts in, "I've repeatedly warned you not to tell Jamie McCrimmon anything."

This makes the rage flare again; "Do you think I'm going to allow Jamie to run into danger without telling him anything? No, I will not."

"But suppose he refuses to do what they want?" the owner of the house asks.

Suppressing a glare the Doctor says, "We shall see." By this time they are nearing the room where Jamie should be. The Doctor has a feeling though that the piper is not there. He feels more distant than he should even with the link between them dulled by drugs. Maxtible heads another direction and Waterfield enters the room with him. The Time Lord see the covered legs under the quilt and thinks perhaps he's wrong about the link at first, "He's still asleep. The gas in that box of yours was pretty potent."

The other man says, "It was Maxtible's invention." _No_, the Doctor thinks, _it was not_.

They walk around to find that the figure is not Jamie. "Jamie!" The Doctor begins scanning the room for clues right away, spotting the open window and noting the dirt on the floor under it.

"Mollie!" They spend a few moments trying to rouse the maid to no avail. Finally Waterfield says, "But your... your friend is vital to the plan of these Daleks. Absolutely essential!"

"So it seems. So, who can have kidnapped him?"

The Doctor's seemingly flippant manner panics Waterfield like nothing else can, "Oh, why won't you understand? The threats they make are not idle ones. Kennedy was murdered. Without your friend, our only hope is gone. Unless... unless, you know something. You seem to be well acquainted with the creatures."

He's pissed off with the man, angered to no end, but – he still feels the need to reassure him, "Everything you say, Waterfield, is true. If we cannot find Jamie, the Daleks will take pleasure in killing everyone in sight, and their greatest pleasure will be in killing me."

At this the Victorian gentleman returns to his attempts at waking the maid. She finally rouses at bit, "Mollie, Mollie. Mr. McCrimmon has been kidnapped! It means the end of us unless we can find him quickly." She is still too out of it to respond in any helpful way however. Waterfield glances about for the Doctor and spots him over by the open window looking at some soil in the carpet.

"Straw."

"I beg your pardon?" Waterfield inquires.

"A piece of straw," the Doctor repeats. Suddenly, he knows where to find Jamie.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

There's a dull thudding ache on the back of his head. This is the first thing he notices when he comes to, again. The second is that he's in a stable. It certainly smells like a stable anyhow. He's a mite woozy still as he opens his eyes and tugs mentally on his weakened bond with his Thete. There's another man in the stall with him, unkempt and thuggish looking. It's pretty clear who walloped him over the head and dragged him out here. And while Jamie's been tossed into the hay on the floor the other man sits on an overturned bucket. "Had a cosy little sleep, young swell?" He proceeds to poke the kilt-sporting lad with the stick he'd clobbered him with rather hard enough to leave a bruise. Jamie makes a swing at him, missing by several feet. The attempt gets him laughed at, "Lively, is it? Maybe you'd like to sleep again? I've got Mr. Nod here." He brandishes the cudgel at the kid; "He'll have you snorin' as good as ever."

Jamie can feel that the Doctor is aware of him and coming closer, "What do you want?"

The cutthroat says, "I'm to be well paid. Have no fear of that."

"Oh, and for what? I don't know you."

At that the top half of the stable door opens and another man appears there. The thug seems to be expecting him, "This your man, sir?"

The horror on the gentleman's face is enough to make Jamie wonder what the hell is going on here. "Toby! What in Hades have you done?" the fellow exclaims.

Toby blinks, "Why, I, uh... brought 'im from the house, like you said." Jamie can tell that Toby, for whatever else he is, is not a liar. This other man did offer to pay for Jamie to be brought here – or someone who looked like him did…

Meanwhile the other gent is protesting, "I said nothing of the kind."

"Well ya did, sir! Honest ya did. A guinea ya promised me. I... I done what ya said. You don't get outta payin'."

The other man seems to transform as he opens the other half of the door. He strides in, grabs the thug by his scruffy shirt and shoves him toward the exit, "Be careful how you speak to me, Toby!" He then pulls out a gold coin and tosses it into the mud just outside the door, "There's your money. Get out!" No sooner than he's let go of Toby and the man scrambled for the coin before fleeing does the gent slump against the wall in a seeming faint. Before Jamie can gain his feet and come over to the man he's upright again, "Where's Toby?"

"You just sent him about his business. Look, what's the matter? Are you all right?" the Scotsman asks.

The gent ignores him, "Where's Victoria Waterfield?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. You're in the house, a friend of Maxtible's. You must know!"

Jamie shakes his head, "I tell you, I don't even know her!"

The man once more seems to faint and recover, "Ha, I must apologize for that villain Toby. He was telling lies, of course. I shall escort you to the house."

Jamie is really rather rattled now, "Uh, You... you... you just asked me about Victoria Waterfield."

"Now, she's in Paris. I'm afraid I haven't introduced myself - Arthur Terrall."

Jamie can feel the Doctor is getting closer by the minute and has no desire to go anyplace with this fellow no matter who he is, "Well, never mind about that. Did you or did you not ask that man to knock me on the head and bring me in here?"

Terrall blinks, "I, oh... ...certainly not!"

Speechless, all Jamie can manage is "Oh."

Thankfully the Doctor appears at the door. Terrall spots him, "Doctor, oh." He breaks into a laugh and says to Jamie, "I see you're in good hands now. I won't detain you any further. Good day, Doctor."

The Doctor, having never even seen this man before gives him a look that could take paint off the wall. He frostily replies, "Oh, good day to you."

Terrall exits and if not for other estate workers just behind the Time Lord, Jamie would hug the bloke for dear life and not let go. Instead he settles for saying, "He's mad. Stark, staring mad!"

"Yes, I know. I was listening. Let's have a look at that head of yours. Come along."

The Scotsman finds himself settled outside the stable on a bench as his Thete fusses over him, "Look, it's all right, Doctor. One minute he says this, the next minute he says that. Can you make it out, Doctor? I'm knocked on the head and I'm brought in here. Then that man Terrall enters and denies having ordered the other man to do it. Well, then he changes, and starts asking about Victoria Waterfield and in the next breath, he tells me she's in Paris!"

Under his breath, because the link won't allow communication in this state he says, "I know what's happened to Victoria."

Jamie makes a face as he tries the link too and discovers that even with the Doctor's hand resting on his temple he can't force words through it. He narrows his eyes and looks into the eyes of the man he's devoted himself too, wondering if this is the Doctor's way of pushing him away. He sees pain there, and knows that this is not the Time Lord's doing. At least he hopes it's not. "What has?" he whispers back, catching the other hand that is resting on his knee.

The gray brown timeless orbs close slowly before the Doctor answers, "She's a prisoner of the Daleks." And somehow Jamie knows it's not just Victoria Waterfield that been caught here. He squeezes those cool fingers with his own warmer ones. The Daleks, whatever they are, cannot know what they have together if they haven't already found out. He's heard about the creatures from Ben and Polly and knows that they could kill the Doctor if they caught him with one of their weapons. Not to mention that they are cold, heartless, egotistical geniuses in their own right. He watches the Doctor stand up and head back to the house. After a moment he gets to his feet and follows him.

He reaches the open sitting room window just in time to hear the other man say, "You've warned him - told him about the Daleks?"

His Thete answers, "Yes, of course I did!"

Jamie closes his eyes as he listens, "But you were expressly told..."

"Oh, fiddlesticks!" The Doctor says to the other man, "Bosh! Jamie will cooperate. You may be certain of that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, perfectly sure. Jamie will do everything he is asked to do. Now come along, we must go and find Maxtible." Jamie slips back in the same window he was abducted through as the Time Lord leaves the room with the other man who must have been Waterfield. _Now, Thete, what is it you want me to do?_ His eyes catch the painting again. There's something about this, something that flows like an undercurrent, that makes the entire thing not nearly as cut and dry as it appears. It's more than just Victoria… But what?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The first thing that the Doctor notes when he re-enters the lab is the Dalek waiting for him, "We do not trust you."

He tosses that right back in the mutant's eyestalk, "Then we're quits, aren't we?"

"But we have your time machine."

This is true, and the Doctor knows it, "Yes."

"So, you will obey us."

The Time Lord turns to Waterfield, "They want the 'Human Factor', is that right?"

"Yes, that is what they want."

"Very complex. And you want to introduce this 'human factor' into the race of Daleks?" The Time Lord questions.

"Yes, the conquest of humanity has eluded us. The Daleks must know why."

"But, why choose Jamie for this test?"

The Dalek answers, "His traveling with you makes him unique."

"But why him? Why not me?"

"Request denied," the metal encased creature tells him.

"Why?"

"You have traveled too much through time. You are more than human."

_Well wasn't that just the kicker_? He wondered when the little green blooded monsters would realize that he's not human at all. Behind him the cabinet opens again and he finds himself nudged inside. There are three cases, small, and it doesn't take much for him to realize that these are Skaro-mutants, waiting for their casing to become full-fledged Dalek warriors. He fights back the feeling of repulsion at the sight and looks back at the Dalek, "What is this?"

Before it can answer Maxtible breezes into the lab and says, "They have been brought from the Dalek planet.

This much he knows already, "Skaro!"

"Yes, their life force is dormant. Before it is activated, we want..." the Dalek starts.

But the Doctor finishes, "You want the 'human factor' introduced. I see." And he does see. He just doesn't like it. He hates it, in fact. He must find some way to thwart this. Perhaps the fact that his bond with Jamie is dulled from the drugs in their systems will prove to be a good thing. He wants to avoid implanting the mutants with anything that might actually improve them.

While the creature might not feel emotions as such, it does understand how to detect them, and currently it can detect that the Doctor is plotting and resisting. "You will obey us!"

"I will make up my own mind!" the stubborn Time Lord retorts back.

Waterfield steps in, "Do not antagonize them, Doctor. They will destroy your time machine!"

And yet… some things are worth that risk, are they not? Could he survive here, with Jamie, if his TARDIS is destroyed? Would his mind recover from the shock? Would his death stop the Daleks? So many questions and he knows the path through this is a very narrow one, "And if I agree, it means the creation of a race of super-Daleks!" Ah but would those Daleks be loyal to their own kind or to their creator, being as he would be behind their existence? "My TARDIS... I have no choice, do I? Very well. I agree." The threads of a plan begin to weave their way through the choices, shifting things onto the path he wants to follow. People will die here, he can only hope to Time herself that one of them will not be Jamie.

"The human being with you must not be aware of the trial," the Dalek threatens.

He nods, "I quite understand."

"Make him begin the test!" He is ordered.

The Doctor sighs, "What must Jamie do?"

Maxtible says smugly, "Attempt to rescue Waterfield's daughter."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie, meanwhile, is standing and staring at that portrait. He's not seeing it; rather he's focused on the faint sense of worry coming down the link and the Doctor's overheard words and the sense that he's being manipulated. He's seen the Doctor do this to others but in the years they've been together the little man has never turned this trait onto him. Why is he doing it now? The Scotsman can't shake the feeling that Thete is hiding something from him. He's not sure if he should be worried or angry. Or panicked. Or scared. He hears Mollie as she leads someone else into the room, "There we are, sir."

It's Ruth Maxtible. He knows from her voice before he even turns around, "Thank you, Mollie." The maid settles down a tea tray and leaves. "Arthur, I'd like you to meet Mr. McCrimmon." Jamie forces the flinch back as he turns to look at Arthur Terrall.

The other man does not hide his distaste; "May I ask what you are doing in this house?"

Jamie takes his reaction as go-ahead to voice his own, "I was just about to ask you the same thing."

Ruth is surprised, "Oh, you gentlemen have been introduced?"

"Aye, we've met," Jamie says.

Terrall turns his attention off the piper and decides ignoring him might make him go away, "It seems, Ruth, your father has the oddest collection of house guests these days."

Puzzled, Ruth scolds, "Now Arthur, please!" She then turns to Jamie, "You must forgive him, Mr. McCrimmon."

Jamie manages to not roll his eyes at her, "Ah, it's becoming a habit."

"I don't care for insolence," Terrall says to him.

"Well, I'm not keen on arrogance myself!" Jamie retorts. He really doesn't need this. He's got way more on his mind right now than he wants. And the Doctor's behavior is tops to that.

Blinking, Ruth observes, "Why, you bite at each other as if you were old enemies!"

The Scottish piper deflates, "I'm sorry if I seem rude."

She smiles at him then turns to Arthur, "Come, I want you to be friends. Won't you be so, to please me?" at this Terrall moans and staggers. Alarmed Ruth steps up to him, "Arthur... Arthur, what is it?" Jamie is torn between helping and pulling away. He takes half a step that direction and she looks up at him, "Excuse me." Then she turns her attention back to the other man, "Arthur! What's the matter?" He pushes away from her and exits the room. She dashes off to follow, "Arthur!"

Mollie just manages to step out of the way, "Sir?"

"Yes?! Oh, I wish you'd call me Jamie."

She manages to fight off a blush, "Oh, I couldn't do that sir. What would the master say?"

He smiles at her, "Oh, who cares! Ah, What can I do for you?"

"If you'd tell me where your bags are, sir - yours and the Doctor's - I'll have them taken up to your room."

"Aye. well, Mollie..."

She cuts him off and looks away, relaxed and at ease with him, "Listen to me, 'have them taken.' I dare say I'll be doin' it meself!"

It at least gives him time to come up with a reason for he and the Doctor to not have bags, "You see, we didn't have time to pick up the luggage. It'll be following. Why do you say that you'll be doing it yourself?"

"Well, they do say, sir, that the house is haunted. Mr. Kitson, the butler, left, and cook and the two footmen are complainin' again."

"Haunted?"

"Mmm." She nods at him, "But, I've never heard anything sir. I sleep like a log and always have."

"Aye. well, I'm glad you've got over the fright you had," here is one person he'd like to get out of harm's way. And for some reason he does believe that there's danger here.

"Oh, yes, that horrible man. Miss Ruth said it was all a game, but I dunno sir. I've never fainted before, sir. Truly I haven't."

"Not 'sir', 'Jamie'!" the piper scolds. It makes Mollie giggle. He smiles again, "Tell me about Arthur Terrall."

"Miss Ruth's fiancé, sir?" At this Jamie gives up the attempt at changing her form of address and nods. "Oh, oh, he's a kind man, sir. Usually. Well, when he's a bit odd or his temper's up, as it has been lately, I says to meself 'Inkerman' and then it's all right."

"'Inkerman'?"

"Yes sir. 'e was out in the Crimea, 'e was. They do say Mr. Terrall was wounded out there. Do you know, my uncle was killed at Inkerman, sir. So, you see, I do know what it's like with soldiers." She picks up the non-used tea tray and nearly runs over the Doctor on her way out, "Oh... oh, I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean to... Well cook said to me that if I did some dusting it would be all right. Oh, you won't tell the master, will you? That I... Ah, ah... Thank you. Sorry sir."

The Time Lord talks right over the top of her, trying unsuccessfully to reassure her, "Sorry Mollie." He then laughs, "Never mind, Mollie. That will do. Yes, Mollie, thank you very much. It's all right, Mollie. I wouldn't dream of telling him. Thank you very much, Bye-bye." He laughs again to show he's not at all upset with her and she manages to make it past him. He looks over at Jamie who is still confused, "Hmm, you'll have to brush up on your history. I can't be around to cover up for you all the time." He clears his throat and begins to fill Jamie in on the recent war, "Now then, in the Crimean War, the English, the French and the Turks fought the Russians..."

But Jamie is in no mood for it, noticing that the link seems even more blocked off than before. He's feeling irritated and angered at the moment. "Oh, forget about all that!"

The Doctor blinks at him, "Oh, I thought you'd be interested. I watched the Charge of the Light Brigade. Magnificent folly..."

"Look, where've you been?"

"Oh, just looking around," the smaller fellow's mobile face has fallen into a frown that is almost a pout.

Jamie vents his anger at that, "Aye. What for? The TARDIS?!" He wants to push the man against the mantle and – he's not sure what he'd do.

With genuine surprise the Doctor says lightly, "Jamie, you're in a temper!"

The Scot clears the distance and gets into the dark haired man's face, "Oh, am I? Is that bad then? Does that mean I won't be co-operative - I won't do everything I'm told?"

Shaken, the Doctor says, "What was that?"

Jamie nearly snarls at him, "I overheard you and Waterfield!"

"You were eavesdropping!"

"Well, whatever it is, I don't like what you're doing." Jamie backs away before the temptation for violence mixes with the need to become one with this infuriating man. For once he's truly scared that he's going to hurt the Doctor. And he's not sure where the impulse is coming from.

"Now you listen to me...!"

Jamie shakes his head and cuts Thete off, "No, Doctor, you're forgetting the TARDIS was stolen and a man was murdered! Now, how am I supposed to tell when I see you as friendly as you like with the murderer!"

"Waterfield did not murder that man!"

This is true, likely. OK he'll concede that point. "All right then, but he stole the TARDIS and that still makes him a thief!"

"The Daleks forced him to!"

"The Daleks! You keep telling me about the Daleks, and I haven't even seen one! You're always on about them, but where are they?!"

Again the Doctor says, "Now you listen to me...!"

This time Jamie lays hands on the man and drives him up against the wall, "No, you'll not get round me this time, Doctor. You're up to something with Waterfield and Maxtible. Now what is it? Some scientific invention?! Or have you gotten tired of traveling with a stupid backward piper?" The surge of energy between them reminds the Scot of how closed off the Doctor's mind is at this moment. What is he hiding? He clenches up his hands in the Doctor's coat, aware that he's standing very, very close. He's seconds away from doing more than pinning the Time Lord to the wall when Waterfield comes into the room. Jamie backs up, managing to not look guilty, "Oh, here's your _friend_."

Suddenly the Doctor realizes that perhaps Jamie's temper comes from jealousy as much as anything else. "Just a little argument," he says to Waterfield's confused look.

"I heard voices raised."

Jamie glowers, "That's not all you'll hear!"

"Jamie seems to think that I'm lying to him."

"Well, aren't you?!" Jamie misses the flinch from his shouting.

"He doesn't believe the Daleks are here."

"It's the truth," Waterfield says.

Jamie lashes out at him now, "Aye, the truth you told Arthur Terrall, maybe - that your daughter was in Paris!"

At the fury he's seeing, the mild mannered Waterfield backs up a step. He's thinking that perhaps interrupting whatever was going on here was a bad idea. " -- I had to tell him that."

"So, you've got another story to tell me?"

Swallowing, the fellow restates, "I tell you that the Daleks are holding my daughter prisoner in the south wing of this house, Mr. McCrimmon."

Jamie nearly growls, "Then why don't you try and get her back, eh?!" He makes an angered motion and then turns on the Doctor again, "And you? What are you doing?!"

Deflating, the Time Lord gives Jamie a pathetic expression, "Well, what can I do? Now, be... be fair Jamie. Waterfield's tied hand and foot because of his daughter and we're tied hand and foot because of the TARDIS!"

"Aye, and that's all you can think about, isn't it? The TARDIS. Well, you can all stand around doing nothing. I'm sick to death of it!" He storms across the room, heading out.

"Now just where are you going?"

"To be by myself for a bit. Do you mind?"

The dark haired man shakes his head, "No, not a bit. But, one word of warning. Don't you try to be a one-man army. You leave well alone. I won't have you ruining everything trying to rescue Victoria Waterfield. Now, you understand?!" If anything this pisses Jamie off even more. He glares at the man and clenches his fists. Then, deciding that he can't do what he wants to do in front of Waterfield, the Scotsman spins on his heel and marches away. After the lad is well out of hearing the Doctor chuckles.

"Well, are you sure you didn't go a little too far, Doctor?"

"Adding a little fuel to the fire," He laughs at the man's expression. "Tell Maxtible that I'll be along to his laboratory shortly."

"Oh, very well, Doctor. If you're sure."

Smiling he says, "Oh yes, quite sure. Once our young friend has cooled his heels a bit, he'll launch off on his own. And you dropped the hint about the south wing beautifully." It's only after Waterfield has left him alone that the Doctor raises a shaking hand up to the bruise on his arm that Jamie's grip has left behind. Only then that the little man stops to wonder how much damage he's done to their relationship.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie waits until later that night, although he's managed to convince Mollie to help him. She's asked him to come back to the sitting room after the others are sleeping. The Scot knows that Thete rarely sleeps and is likely wide awake someplace. But he's not going to let that stop him. The sitting room is dimly lit where the maid waits for him. She jumps when he opens the door; "It's only me, Mollie!"

She giggles and then says, "It's over here, sir. I took it from the master's study."

What 'it' is, is the floor plan of the house. Jamie looks the paper over; "It's marvelous. Thank you!" He quickly memorizes it.

" 'ere, is this what you wanted?" she confirms.

"Perfect, yes. Let's see, umm... this is the south wing here?" He points to the area.

Mollie nods, "Yes sir, but it's been closed off."

"Completely?"

"Oh, no sir. Only 'cause of some repairs about a twelve-month back. But the door may be locked."

He really needs to do this. After a moment of thought he looks at her, "Can you show me?"

"All right. What're you gonna do, sir?"

He smiles at her, "Off to hunt a few wee ghosties, Mollie."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The lab has been transformed from the 1860's to space age Skaro in a matter of hours. The volume of alien technology in the room would give the Doctor's people a tizzy fit. In fact the Doctor is not sure why his people haven't shown up yet. Surely they can sense the fluctuations in time that these machines are causing? Not to mention the fact that he's been forced to make the stuff run on the energy here, adjusting it to make it use human currency. His time signature should be all over the place by now. His stomach is a mass of nerves. The only thing he can hope for is that Jamie loves him enough to imprint that with the rest of his reactions. It's his wild card, that. "Every single one of Jamie's reactions will be recorded on these Dalek machines?"

He's being watched by Maxtible and two Daleks. The mutants don't believe that Maxtible knows enough about the delicate machinery to wire it, which is why the Doctor is down doing it with what amounts to a pair of guns on his back. The owner of the house is oblivious to the danger, "And then transformed into thought patterns on silver wire. A wonderful creation!"

The Doctor doesn't really think so.

"It is for you, Doctor, to select the major feelings to make up this 'human factor'." The Dalek in charge tells him. "We shall watch your every move."

He gets to his feet, "Oh, yes. I quite understand. And every step of Jamie's progress will be covered?"

The other Dalek says, "Yes. The young human being is on his way."

Maxtible nods, "Full cooperation. The recording machines can be set in action."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie and Mollie reach the location indicated on the house plans. "Here!"

It's dimly lit by the candle Mollie holds. She nods, "Yes, sir. I once remember the master stepping away from here. When he saw me, he was very cross and told me to keep away." Jamie nods. The air is rent by the sounds of a nearly inhuman scream. "What was that? What was that?!"

Jamie catches her by the hand, "That was no ghost, Mollie, that's for sure. That was a human voice!" His words calm her somewhat but she's still upset. "Look Mollie, take the candle and go back to your room. Will you do that?" She nods. "Now, do you want me to see you safely there?"

"Oh, sir! No, no. I'll be all right." With that she heads off back to the main part of the house leaving Jamie alone in the dark hall. He steadies himself and then turns and investigates the wood panel. The oily fingerprints pretty much tell him exactly where to push to get the hidden door open. What saves him from the trap at that spot is a small bird that somehow got caught inside the wing. It flies through the opening and makes him step back. His slight retreat takes him out of range of the spikes that shoot out and embed themselves into the lower wood trim. Jamie pauses a moment more and then ducks around them into the hall beyond. It's a bare space but for a couch. The moonlight casts enough illumination for him to make out that there's another individual already there, waiting for him. When the much larger man moves into an offensive position to block his path Jamie realizes that this must be what the Doctor actually wanted him to do. _Why, Thete? What couldn't you tell me?_

The other man is a giant in comparison to Jamie. Not that the piper is a slouch or anything, but he's an average sized fellow, trained to fight well enough, but a piper by trade. He's going to have to use his mind to get past this because there's no way he can beat this huge man by brawn alone. He tries communication first, much as he's seen the Doctor do, "Hello? Who are you?" He gets no answer. Perhaps he can rush past him? He lunges forward and finds that the fellow is fast for his size. No dodging him then. He's going to have to use the fellow's size against him.

Jamie rushes him again, intent on grappling with the man just long enough to get past him. He finds that his left hand is caught in a vice like grip. He pulls back but is unable to break free. Caught, Jamie goes for another tactic: lunging even closer to put the larger man off balance. He lands his shoulder just under the giant's diaphragm making the man off balance and fighting for his breath. The man falls back loosening his grip on Jamie's left hand as he goes.

With his opponent down, Jamie steps back and considers the situation. He must get past this. Circling, the Scot tries to slip past with the man down only to end up exchanging blows, feints, blocks and tumbles as the other fellow tries to stop his passage. Jamie's anger gives him a bit of an edge, a willingness to inflict damage that he might otherwise suppress. He kicks his way free and gets to his feet again. He ends up with his back to the window.

The other man gains his feet too and Jamie can see that the fight is taking as much out of him as his opponent is dishing. They are both sweating and breathing hard. Jamie doesn't want to actually hurt anyone if he can help it. The other man suddenly dives at him and Jamie moves out of his path. There's a crash and the tinker of broken glass as the man goes through the window. Shocked and worried, Jamie rushes to see if the man has fallen to his death and is relieved to find that he's managed to hang on to a drainpipe and is still alive. It only takes him a moment to make up his mind. He reaches out and offers his help to his opponent, saving him from an almost certain doom should he fall.

The other man is surprised, but accepts the help and is grateful for it. Jamie hauls him back inside. They fall to the floor once it's clear that neither is going to die here. The large man silently expresses his thanks. After a moment Jamie nods to show he understands and then gets to his feet. Concerned, the other man follows. It doesn't take long for the two of them to locate where Victoria must have been held. The barred window, single bed, table and chair pretty much give it away. The other man tries to dissuade Jamie from exploring more, but the Scot finds a monogrammed woman's handkerchief just inside the door. He intends to retrieve it.

Jamie reaches for the bit of cloth and the larger man pulls him back. He's got a grip on it already, so it comes with him. For a moment the piper thinks the man intends to fight him again but the swish of the heavy guillotine pulls him up short. Tit for tat. One life for another. Jamie looks at the embedded blade and then glances back at the other man. After a breath or two he offers the fellow his hand. With a grin the man shakes it, understanding that he's crossed from foe to friend. After a quick search to ensure there are no more clues the pair continue on their way, unaware that a Dalek from has observed them across the hall.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Having watched the first fight and the outcome the Doctor is relieved by Jamie's progress. "It took courage to fight Maxtible's Turkish wrestler," the Time Lord states.

The red Dalek next to him brags, "The Daleks are afraid of nothing and no one."

"But Jamie saved the Turk's life."

This is dismissed with, "Human weakness."

The Time Lord shakes his head, "If he hadn't, he would have died in that room of yours. If you want the Human Factor, a part of it must include mercy." And mercy, he knows, is something Daleks don't have.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They've reached an area that seems fairly secure, and Jamie says, "That's better, thank you. Aye, you're an odd one. I'll say that. Aye, well, I... I suppose we're both a -- a bit touched, eh? Knocking each other about the place and saving one another's lives." The other man shakes his head slowly but with little emotion. "You don't say much, do you?" He gets a gesture of a finger across lips with another slow head shake. The Scot is gathering that the fellow, though intelligent, can't talk, "Oh, I see. You can't talk? Aye. Well, you're a sight better than a number of people I know who can. I wonder what your name is?"

At this the fellow walks over to a dusty window and carefully writes out: K E M E L. Jamie smiles. "Kemel? Well, I'm Jamie." He again offers his hand and Kemel refuses it, bowing his head subserviently. "He... hey, what is that?! Now come on now. None of that. We're to be friends. Do you hear? Friends." This confuses Kemel but then he notices the handkerchief with the initials of V. W. on it. He points. "Aye." Kemel indicates that he knows her. Jamie nods, " 'V.W.' I know, Victoria Waterfield." Kemel pulls out a pressed flower he's been given. "Oh, Miss Waterfield gave you the flower? You like her?"

Kemel nods. "Of course. Then what are we fighting for?" Jamie asks him. Kemel cocks his head to the side. "Do you not know what I'm doing here, Kemel? Victoria Waterfield is being held a prisoner here somewhere." The larger man points and himself and then Jamie, links two fingers together, and then points down the hall. "Together? Aye, we'll go together. There's no one I'd rather have with me."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

This is observed by the Doctor and the red Dalek. And on top of that the Doctor is observed even closer. He can't afford to show any sort of approval or compassion himself. Not while he's being drawn into the experiment as well.

They watch the progress, every step of the way, both Jamie's thoughts and actions and the Doctor's reactions to them.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Scot and the Turk are paused in the shadows, watching the patrols. Another pair glides past. Kemel wants to take them out, Jamie can tell by his tense posture. But he's learned from the Doctor to pick his battles. And this is one they can avoid, if they are careful, "Wait. Never mind about those, Kemel, unless they catch sight of us. We seem to be going in the right direction."

They edge down the passage, keeping to the shadows. Jamie sets off yet another trap. "Down!" he warns as he hears the buzzing noise that gives away the activation. Kemel and Jamie both drop to the floor lightening fast as the pendulum swings down towards their heads. Once the weapon is past them and retracted both men sigh with relief before carefully gaining their feet and moving to the end of the hall.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The red Dalek intones, "We do not trust you. What thoughts are you using now?"

The Doctor glances at it, "Human beings have five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. But there is instinct too. And Jamie used instinct to avoid your trap."

The Dalek notes the slight indication of pride that the Doctor cannot completely suppress over his human's progress.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Having just witnessed Victoria being dragged out into the landing above and force to shout her name Jamie tells Kemel, "She's very beautiful, Kemel." The Turk picks up a stick and looks ready. Jamie puts a hand on his arm, "What are you going to do with that?" Kemel mimes knocking one of the opponents off with it. Jamie knows better. "You'll attack the Daleks - draw them off down the corridor, while I go up there and rescue her somehow? It's too dangerous, Kemel. Besides, needs two of us up there. But how?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Dalek notes the change in the thought wave, "What is the significance of this thought pattern?"

"Suicidal attacks to gain an objective." He frowns, "Postulate." Then he says to the Dalek, "Self-preservation is a strong human factor. Jamie and his new friend are determined to succeed. But finding the girl is only part. Getting her away is another."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie and Kemel watch as they hide just off the gallery as Victoria is once again ordered about by a Dalek, "Name?"

"Victoria."

Her captor orders, "Louder!"

"Victoria Waterfield!" she nearly screams it this time. "Victoria Waterfield!"

The Dalek, satisfied that she's been overheard informs her, "Inspection is over. Return to your room."

Puzzled by the odd behavior, Victoria does return to the new room she's been assigned. As the upper Dalek turns away Jamie and Kemel move out of their cover and quickly rope and sling the guarding lower one into a blazing fireplace. While the smoke and flames won't kill it, it is quite effectively trapped there. "Well, that's fixed that one." Jamie tells Kemel. The Dalek makes some noise that give the impression that it is quite uncomfortable with the heat, in any case. The two would be rescuers rush to the end of the gallery and use the rope to scale up to the second floor. Jamie reaches the tops and makes sure Kemel does too, "Look out, the rail's going to break!" Just as he speaks most of it does in fact break away and fall to the floor below. Kemel indicates that he's OK and Jamie turns to the door. He knocks four times and calls, "Miss Waterfield? Can you open the door? We've come to get you."

Before she does open the door there's a noise from below. A quick glance reveals a Dalek coming to investigate the crash. Then another door opens to show that they are cornered. The one on the balcony with them levels its weapon at them.

Working together and in concert Kemel and Jamie snag the rope and toss it over the approaching monster. They are able to shove it off the balcony through what it left of the rail. The landing causes it to explode and the warning tone begins to call for assistance. Shoving Kemel into the room, Jamie says, "Quick, before we see any more of those mechanical beasties."

Victoria sounds quite happy to see them, "Kemel, my dear friend!"

"Aye, he's a good friend, right enough, Miss Waterfield," Jamie tells her.

"And you?"

"Er... Introductions in a moment, if you please. First, I'd like to make us a little bit more secure. Kemel, if we lash this bedstead across the door, it might just hold." They begin piling the furniture against the door while Victoria watches in wonder. "Rope! That's it. We could do with a chest against it, I'm thinking. Another one on top, eh? Well now, they can't get in and we can't get out. So, where does that put us? Oh. Jamie McCrimmon. I, uh... I came to give you this." With that he hands her the handkerchief. Victoria takes it with delight and smiles softly at him. Jamie knows that if his heart weren't already taken he'd fall for the lass, hands down. He just hopes that the one his heart belongs to still needs him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Now that Jamie has reached Victoria the Doctor convinced the Daleks that he needed a break. After all, most of the other humans were sleeping. He's moved into the trophy room and is sipping a glass of wine. It's not something he does often but he suspects that the atypical behavior confuses his captors. Which is, in part, his goal. Terrall wanders into the room. Now there's a mystery… "Are you sure you won't join me?"

"No, I won't. I very rarely touch it."

"Oh, dear. W...Well, something else, perhaps? I know - let me ring for some food. Now, do join me?"

"No! You seem determined to involve me."

With a coy smile the Doctor admits, "Yes. I do, don't I?"

"This is a large house. I prefer my own company."

"Oh, how very unsociable."

Terrall concurs, "Yes, possibly. No doubt you will enjoy your libation in one of the other rooms."

Ah there's a reason he's here, all the more reason to stay… "Liba...? Ah, Oh, no. Thank you. I'm... I'm perfectly happy here. Thank you. I'm perfectly happy." He watches Terrall exit the room then casually follows him, "What an extraordinary collection, isn't it? Hmm ? Oh, I... I... I... I... I'm so sorry. I, uh... you... you didn't... You weren't in the mood for talking, were you?"

Anger tinges the fellow's words, "Shouldn't you be helping Waterfield and Maxtible with their experiment?"

Playing the bumbling fool the Doctor responds, "He... he... yes, uh... But I thought I'd have a little rest. Uh... I wanted to talk to you."

"About what, pray?"

"About you, Mr. Terrall. You interest me. Uh... Do you know something? Ever since I came to this house, I..." He becomes distracted, "This is Circassian, surely..."

Terrall snaps, "Do I know what?"

The Doctor mumbles a bit more before turning to the man, "Ever since I came to this house, I have never seen you eat or drink anything. Now, that's curious, isn't it, hmm?"

"I dine alone."

"Yes, I'd thought of that, but, uh... Waterfield has never seen you eat or drink either."

Terrall removes a scimitar from the wall and swishes it through the air. It's easy enough to see that he's trained with a blade and rather well. Laughing he says, "You, uh... seem to be a devotee of Edgar Allen Poe."

"Oh, do I?"

"However it..." he makes a fast whipping motion with the blade, one that most folks would duck from. The Doctor knows it would come very close to his face and does not move, even when it misses his nose by scant inches. Impressed, Terrall changes his train of thought, "Ah, isn't wise to make assumptions, nor to meddle in affairs, which are none of your business."

At this the Doctor laughs, "Touché." But the Time Lord is not finished. As the man grounds himself by touching the sideboard the Doctor picks up a fencing trophy and places it near the end of the scimitar on a table. The blade's point rises as if to complete a circuit. "Oh, look. A perfectly ordinary sword, and yet it appears to be magnetic. And see?" Having this drawn to attention Terrall releases the handle of the weapon. It falls to the table, perfectly normally. "Directly you let go, it loses its magnetism. Now, if uh... if I didn't know better, Mr. Terrall, I'd say that you were full of some sort of electricity."

Maxtible walks into the room, interrupting the proceedings, "Doctor? Uh... excuse me. You're wanted."

"Oh, hmm. Thank you. Excuse me," he starts to take his leave.

Terrall calls back to him, "Doctor! No doubt you are a keen student of human nature, but some things are better left alone."

"No, Mr. Terrall. I am not a student of human nature. I am a professor of a far wider academy, of which human nature is merely a part. All forms of life interest me."

Maxtible urges again, "I'm sorry to interrupt you Doctor, but it's something rather urgent." At this the Doctor and house owner exit, leaving Terrall to himself.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie is just finishing up relating the tale of how he and the Doctor arrived here, "...and so the Doctor and I were brought to the house." He leaves off the fighting that's been going on since.

"Why did you risk your life to try and rescue me?" she asks.

The Scot doesn't want to answer that. It's too close to the argument he's had with Thete. "Would you like some more water?"

But Victoria is sharp. She can see that he's sidetracking her, "You are too modest. It was a silly question."

He shakes his head finding her question as not silly as a question can be. Not that he wants to answer it, still. "Then tell me, how did they come to capture you in the first place? Uh... you were drugged, maybe?"

The dark haired lass settles down on her narrow cot, "I don't remember. And yet, I seem to remember in the back of my mind, somebody - oh, I can't recall who it was - telling me to walk. And I obeyed, blindly and without interest." She looks up at Jamie and can see that he's interested still and seems to be making something out of her story, but what she has no idea. "I simply don't know. The only thing I remember is waking up in a bare room with one of those terrible, terrible things."

"Aye," the piper understands how that might rattle someone. "Well, what do you remember before that, apart from this hazy recollection?"

"I was reading in the sitting room, but I couldn't concentrate, because I was so worried about Papa. I think I fell asleep over my book."

Jamie reaches a conclusion that he dislikes reaching, one that might explain his Thete's behavior, "You see, how you came under the power of the Daleks is very important. They can't have done as much as they have without some help."

The lass' mouth works a moment in surprise. The Scot is suggesting that someone she trusted has betrayed both her and her father, "Help? From somebody in the house?"

Making a face Jamie nods, "Yes, from someone who wants their plans to succeed - someone who drugged you or... or found a way of putting you under the power of the Daleks." There's only one person he can think of – and the Doctor's been with him the entire time.

"But how? How could it be done without my knowing?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor has been summoned back to the lab to perform the delicate work of inserting the positronic devices into the waiting mutants. The Daleks themselves lack the motor skills to do the work and they don't trust the skills of the humans with the biology of their kin either. Only the Doctor has the skill necessary to complete the work in this way. They've allowed him an assistant, however; Waterfield is with him. The man is not overly sure he wants to be there, "Is it finished?"

"Very nearly. Jamie was magnificent. But then, I knew he would be. He produced a whole battery of emotions; each one of which is imprinted in here. See?"

"The 'Human Factor'?" Waterfield asks, dread coloring his voice.

The Doctor shrugs, "Well, a part of it at least. The... the better part - courage, pity, chivalry, friendship, even compassion. Some of the virtues. This is a positronic brain. We're going to implant one of these into each of these three Daleks here. The dormant ones."

"So the end is in sight?"

To this he can only answer, "Perhaps."

"What happens when the capsule comes into contact with the brain of the Dalek and starts to influence it?"

"Perhaps it will drive them insane," the Time Lord can only hope that it doesn't. But introducing so many opposite factors to normal Dalek behavior is bound to be quirky.

"Or turn them into super-beings?"

"Hmm. Well, that is their purpose. At least, I imagine it is. I can't help feeling that there's more in this than meets the eye."

At this a full fledged Dalek emerges from the cabinet, "You have completed the experiment?" To this the Doctor says yes. He's ordered, "Stand in front of the cabinet and speak when you have finished. And, Doctor, be careful." The implied threat is still there. They don't trust him.

"Yes, yes. I understand," he says. The Dalek leaves the way it came.

"Doctor? You can't... you mustn't do it. You must stop the experiment." Waterfield pleads.

"Oh, you should have thought of that some time ago. It's no use having a conscience now."

"But... before it's too late... Yes, but what are we doing? What are we really doing? Turning these creatures into super-beings."

The Time Lord rolls his eyes at the man, "It was too late when they took away your daughter. It was too late when you stole my TARDIS and lured me to this house and this century." He turns away and mumbles, "Almost superior, anyway."

Waterfield steps around so he can see the smaller man's face again, "Adding what is best and finest in human nature to all that is brilliant and superior in them. They'll be unbeatable."

"That is their purpose."

"But you're making over the whole world to them. Don't you realise that? Our world, our future. They will enslave us for all time."

"That, Mr. Waterfield, remains to be seen." The human steps back in desperation and picks up a twisted metal bar that's been discarded on the worktable behind where the Doctor is laboring. He tests the weight of it and eyes the back of the Doctor's head. Without even looking the little man says, "Attacking me will do no good. Now, listen. You've done all of this because of your daughter. Jamie is with her now and they're both still in the power of the Daleks. They must be set free!"

"And sacrifice a whole world - a history - past, present and future? Destroy an entire race?"

Sadly the Doctor replies, "Yes. I... I don't think you quite realize what you're saying. But yes, it may come to that. It may very well come to that." Because he can see this going one of two ways and both of them may well be the end of a civilization.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Even though he'd sworn to not go into the fight with the Daleks for fear that he'd scare Victoria she's gotten him to talk about it anyhow. That Kemel was willing to nearly act it out without him to share the tale was enough assurance that she'd be able to handle it. "So, with the Dalek's eye stick pointing forward, Kemel and I were able to tiptoe up behind him, throw the rope over his head and throw him into the fire." He's interrupted by banging on the door. The Daleks seem to be trying to get in, but have not just forced their way, which is odd from what he's been told.

"What are they doing?" The lass asks.

"They must be trying to get through. You'd better stand back, Miss Waterfield."

She looks puzzled, having been around the creatures she knows that the blockade is a mere annoyance, "Why not break the door down? They're strong enough."

This is a fair bit of worry for Jamie as well, "I don't know. Maybe they want us alive. I... I just don't know." He reaches forward and places a hand on the stacked furniture, "Is it hot? Aye, well, there's no smoke. Could be one of their newfangled inventions trying to melt their way through. Look, you'd better stand right back. Why didn't they try before this, is what I don't understand. Anyway, we'll make it as hard for them as we possibly can. Come on, Kemel. Excuse me. Take this. That's it. That one too. What's puzzling me is: there were two on the way up here, and there was a Dalek up here, and you were up..." Kemel moves in to assist him but while both are occupied it becomes clear why Victoria was in this room. There's a secret passage. When it opens and Victoria is grabbed from behind she makes enough sound that both Jamie and Kemel begin to ignore the banging, "Hey, Miss Waterfield!"

The panel is not that thick, and Victoria hears Jamie call for her. She can't see who has grabbed her but struggles anyway, "Mmph!" She then bites hard, "Jamie!" It doesn't take the hand that ends up over her mouth long to choke off her cry, "Mmph!"

It's enough though, "Hey, did you hear it? Of course! Why didn't I use my head? There's another way in and out of here. Come on!" he quickly finds the passage entrance. He and Kemel pass into it and the panel closes just as the Daleks crash into the room behind them. Following the passage the two men reach a point where it forks. "Oh, no. Two ways to go. Uh... Kemel, you go that way. If it's a dead end, follow me." Kemel nods and sets off. Jamie heads the way he's chosen and ends up catching Terrall in the trophy room. The other man grabs a sword prompting Jamie to pick up a pair himself. It's Terrall that makes the first strike. Jamie goes defensive, striking back only to gain some breathing room. The battle rages for a while until Jamie gains the upper hand and knocks the Victorian gentleman to the floor. He's been trained for battle, and the other man, although a fighter too is not up to prime condition, "Right." He covers the distance and Terrall leaps to his feet, attacking without warning. Jamie blocks the blows, "Where's Victoria Waterfield?!"

There's dark laugher in the response, "You'll never find her."

"Tell me!" Jamie presses, striking hard enough to rattle the other man's bones. This forces Terrall back into the hallway where Ruth and Mollie spot the fight.

"Mollie, go and fetch the Doctor, quick!" Ruth sends the maid off and then turns her attention to her lover, "Hurry! Arthur, stop it. I implore you! Stop it!"

"Leave me!" he snaps at her.

"Please, I implore you. Stop it!"

It's like magic. Suddenly Terrall drops the sword and falls to the floor. Jamie backs away, breathing hard. The Doctor comes into view behind Mollie and manages to pass her, "Jamie, what have you done?"

The piper shakes his head, "But, I can't understand it. He just... just collapsed." The Doctor looks from Jamie to the man on the floor and believes the Scot.

"Arthur, are you all right? What's happened to him?" Ruth begs.

He's got no time to explain, "Do you want to save a man's life?"

"What do you...?"

"Do you?"

Ruth looks him in the eye, "Yes!"

"Then take him away from here, as far away as possible. Go and get the carriage round to the stables. You go too Mollie. We'll bring him after you. Now do go along." After the women have left the Doctor removes something from the back of Terrall's neck, "Yes, I thought he was under some sort of control. Come along."

Terrall fights back to awareness, "The creatures! There's danger, I tell you. Some kind of danger. The house... the creatures abroad."

To this the Doctor nods, "Yes, don't worry about them. Yes, I know there's danger. You must leave here immediately. Now you leave them to us. Take Ruth Maxtible with you. She's waiting for you at the stables."

Somehow this gets through to the man, "Yes, very well."

Jamie thinks he might understand what is going on, "Can you manage?"

Terrall looks up at the lad's worried blue-green eyes, "Yes, I think so. Wait. There's something in the back of my mind. Victoria Waterfield - I feel I've harmed her in some way."

The Doctor says calmly, "Victoria is safe and well. We'll take care of her. You must leave immediately."

"Yes, if that's what you want. I'll find Ruth by the stables?" After the Doctor has confirmed this Terrall leaves the house.

Jamie waits until he can no longer hear the footsteps and narrows his eyes, "Well, that's fine for Ruth Maxtible, but you _lied_ about Victoria."

Swallowing, the Time Lord looks up at his young companion, "Yes Jamie, and we must turn that lie into a truth." He leads Jamie back to the lab. He can feel the lad stewing. All he wants is to put this behind them. "Well Jamie, the experiment's nearly over. I've had no sleep. I've been up all night, but it's been worth it." He goes to put a hand on Jamie's arm, having figured out how to remove the chemical block on their bond.

"Ah, don't touch me!"

Jerking back he blinks at the Scot, "Now what's the matter?"

"Anyone would think this was a little game."

The Doctor becomes very still, "No. It is not a game." He's going to break if he can't get to his TARDIS soon unless Jamie lets him touch…

"Of course it isn't, Doctor. People have died. The Daleks are all over the place, fit to murder the lot of us, and all you can say is you've had a good night's work."

"Jamie," he warns. He can't reveal how much pain he's in, how much this hurts. Not while the Daleks are watching his every move.

"No, Doctor. Look, I'm telling you this: you and me - we're finished. You're just too callous for me. Anything goes by the board - anything at all." It hurts like daggers through the heart to say it, but he's got to. This – this inhumanity he seen is not what he thought he was getting on for.

Bewildered and hurt, the Doctor blinks rapidly for a moment before catching the piper by the arm even though the lad insisted he didn't want to be touched. "That's just not true, Jamie. I've never held that the end justifies the means." He hits a wall of static. Jamie's figured out how to close himself off!

"Ach, words. What do I care about words? You don't give that much for a living soul except yourself."

"I care about life. I care about human beings. _I care about you_. Do you think I let you go through that Dalek test lightly?" He's revealing too much, here. Way, way too much.

Jamie shrugs his arm out of the Doctor's grip, "I don't know. Did you? Look, Doctor, just whose side are you on?"

They stand there staring at each other. _Let me in, Jamie, Please_.

_Tell me the honest truth, Thete. What do I mean to you?_

_You are my Universe, Jamie. I'd give up everything for you. Past, Future, Travel… Time herself. All you have to do is ask._

_I don't wan' you to do tha'. Just – Do you _love_ me, Thete?_

"Does it need to be said, Jamie McCrimmon? Do you need me to say it?"

"Just a yes or no will do."

"_Yes_." It's but a whisper. The hardest thing he's ever said. And he can't meet the lad's eyes when he does. But Jamie takes his hand, clearly knowing how much the admission has cost him. Events rearrange themselves again, showing him the narrow path has twisted and morphed. There's darkness ahead, terrible darkness. And he can live forever with Jamie inside it or he find a way though it and face it some later time. He squeezes the piper's hand as the crates on the far side of the room slowly open and two of the Daleks inside them emerge. Jamie tenses up, "It's all right, Jamie. Uh... They're friends."

"Friends?" The lad lets the Time Lord half block him from the approaching monsters.

"Now don't get the wrong idea. They are the experiment."

The final Dalek emerges as Maxtible dashes into the room, "Every feeling, every thought impulse you had during your attempt to rescue Victoria Waterfield was recorded and made into a small positronic brain and added to these Daleks. The 'Human Factor' to add to their own powers - to triumph over human beings."

Jamie narrows his eyes at the man. He's the one that placed Victoria in danger. "Well, how do you know they haven't succeeded?"

At this the Doctor smiles, "Because human beings, Jamie, no matter how brilliant they may be, are always within reach of other human beings. Now then, it's all right, Jamie. Don't worry."

"H... How do you know you can trust them, Doctor?"

The trio converges on the Doctor, eager to play. "What is it? What do you want? Hmm? What are you up to? Ah! What are you doing?" This is a very human trait. One of them lifts the Doctor up and carries him around the room. "Where are you taking me? Jamie! They're taking me for a ride! Jamie, they're playing a game. It's a game! They're taking me for a ride!" This makes the Time Lord laugh.

Jamie watches closely. Nearby Maxtible says, "A rather amusing little game, don't you think Jamie?" The piper frowns at the man's words.

From the other side of the room the Doctor says, "We've done it! Maxtible, they've got the 'Human Factor'. We've done it! What are they doing now? Look, they're all joining in. They're playing train!" The three Daleks eagerly begin to follow one another through the lab as the Doctor pulls his recorder and makes tooting sounds on it.

The Dalek carrying him mimics the noise of the recorder and chants, "Train, train, train, train." The other two begin to copy it. The next thing the Doctor knows, he's being passed from one to the other as they take turns spinning.

"Oh... oh, now what is it? Oh, we're on the roundabout. They're playing roundabout. Oh, I'm getting dizzy. Oh dear. Oh, oh, ho, ho, oh. I'm dizzy! Oh, ho, ho. I'm dizzy."

"Diz-yy, diz-yy, dizzy Doctor." The three 'human' Daleks chant.

Delighted the Time Lord says, "Maxtible, do you hear that? They've got a sense of humour!"

"I'm glad you are so easily amused," the other man says dryly. The Doctor laughs at this, because he knows this came from Jamie. Jamie's humour, Jamie's playfulness, all the good things about the lad that he loves so much… "Well, I congratulate you, Doctor. They are almost human. And I will now leave you to your little game."

As he exits the Daleks put the Doctor down and amuse themselves with something else, "Oh, thank you."

Jamie takes in the glow about his Thete. Suddenly he realizes this - these creatures are what he and the Doctor have made together. The Doctor's skill and _his_ humanity. These three Daleks are _their_ children. Now _that_ shifts everything. He can't believe he was cross about this. What the blazes is wrong with him? "Well, how old are they now, Doctor - mentally?"

The Time Lord looks over at the Scot and notices a change in the look in his eye. "Oh, they're just young children, but they'll grow up very fast - within a matter of hours." _Jamie?_

_We made them? Together?_

_Yes. Together. I would have told you…_

_Na, you wouldn't. It's OK._

He turns his attention to the trio of Daleks and calls them over, "Now, uh... come here all of you. Come along, gather round. Come here. Now then, come along, come along."

"Who is this?" Asks one Dalek.

"Oh, this is Jamie. He's a friend."

The Dalek closest to him says, "Friend. Hello, friend."

The Doctor pokes the lad, "Well, say hello Jamie."

Somehow this make him feel shy, "Hello."

"You know what a friend is, don't you? It's somebody who... who likes you - who wants to help you and share with you." The three Daleks don't show much reaction to that, seeming thoughtful. The Doctor picks up a marker and adorns each of the three with a Greek letter, Alpha, Beta, and Omega. He smiles at them, "There we are."

Curious the third Dalek asks, "What have you done?"

"I have given you all names. Alpha, Beta and Omega." He indicates each one as he says their names.

The Daleks decide they like this, "Alpha, Beta, Omega. Alpha, Beta, Omega. Alpha, Beta, Omega."

"Yes, yes, yes. now... now, this is Jamie and I am Doctor. We are friends."

The three chant, "Friends, friends, Jamie, Doctor, friends, friends. We must go now. We are called."

_No- not just yet. No –_ "Go? Go where? What do you mean, 'go'?"

"All Daleks are ordered to return to Skaro."

The Doctor frowns, "Return to Skaro? But, that's the Dalek planet."

"Friend." Beta says as it brushes past.

Jamie make a face, "But if the Daleks are returning to Skaro, where's Victoria?"

"Victoria! We left her in the secret passage. Come on - follow me!" They find that the passages are empty, with no sign of either Kemel or Victoria. It's most strange. And it makes the Doctor believe that he's going to have to go far from Earth to save her. The Darkness looms large in front of him, obscuring the possible future with its menace. He grips his hair in frustration and spins a bit. Jamie catches him and strokes his cheek with a hand. "The lab – we must get back to the lab."

"Let's go then," Jamie drags him back through the house. They reenter the lab to find Waterfield on the floor and he's muttering.

"Doc... Dalek... Doctor."

The time cabinet clicks and he looks at it for a dreaded second. Then he turns his attention to the man on the floor, "Waterfield, what's happened to you?"

"Doc... Doctor, Daleks are going to destroy... house. Can't turn it off." He gestures to what must be a bomb.

The Doctor looks at it, "But, this is a time switch."

"Well, if you can't turn it off, surely..." Jamie starts.

He cuts the lad off and concentrates on the count which is off by just enough to indicate Dalek timing, "No, wait a second. Eighty-nine, eighty-eight, eighty-seven. Just about a minute, that's all we've got."

"Well, toss it out the window then."

The Doctor shakes his head, "This isn't a firework. We'd have to toss this half a mile. We'll have to follow the Daleks to Skaro. Jamie, open the doors. Come along." He gets Waterfield to his feet.

Jamie jumps to the Doctor's orders and tries the doors of the time cabinet, "Doctor, they're locked. They won't budge!"

"Cupboard in the alcove. The time machine," Waterfield says, still sounding dizzy.

"Time machine! Jamie, give me a hand. Come on. Quickly. Quickly. Here, now... Here, take this." The Doctor rushes to set up the machinery so that it will take them to Skaro. "Now the other one. Steady."

"Right. Now, where's Victoria?"

"Quick Jamie, the time switch!"

Jamie stands back up from where he was kneeling with a pressed flower in his hand, "Twenty-eight, Doctor. Hey, Doctor, Kemel must have dropped this."

Exasperated the Time Lord hollers, "Jamie!"

"We'll find Victoria and Kemel too," the piper says as he moves back to the trasmat machine. The Doctor grabs him and pulls him into the field of the device just as the bomb goes off. They appear along with some of the blast on a hillside. It's someplace the Doctor never wanted to come back to. Jamie sets off to look for water.

Waterfield recovers quickly, "And that is the Dalek city?" his expression is one of amazement.

The Doctor's face is grim, "Yes, it is." He can feel his TARDIS is here and has been for quite a while. They are not out of danger yet.

"I've scouted around, but I can't see any water," Jamie announces as he returns.

"Oh, please don't bother. I feel much better."

"Come along then. We must get along," The Doctor begins ushering them down.

"You mean just walk into the city?" Jamie asks.

"Oh, no Jamie. The city is all around us. At least, um, it's beneath us. Come along." He quickly uncovers a way in, "Not a sound. I think the Daleks are in for a little surprise." Jamie gives him a curious look and shakes his head. The access port leads to a tunnel that opens up to a ledge that runs along an underground chasm. He's never gone this way before, as Barbara and Ian took this route. But he can almost feel the passage of his older companions along the ledge. He lets this guide him. As they make their way they hear a scream.

"That was a human voice, I tell you," Jamie says.

The Doctor nods, "Perhaps it was, Jamie."

Waterfield urges, "We must go more quickly."

Now a female scream echoes through the passage, "Victoria. That was Victoria's voice."

They speed up, as best they can, "You can't. Where are you running to? Well, you mustn't. You'll go over the edge!" Waterfield babbles from the rear.

As they hurry a Dalek glides out into their path, "Doctor, I am your friend."

Jamie relaxes, "One of your experiments, Doctor. For a moment I thought we were done for!"

The Doctor is not so sure. The mark on the fellow looks off- unless this is Beta. "What is your name?"

"Omega."

Disappointed, he says, "Oh, I see."

"I have come to lead you."

"Thank you." The Doctor moves toward the imposter, nearly heading over the edge of the cliff.

Jamie catches him. _Not Omega_. "Oh, careful."

"Oh, ah... I'm all right. Oh, thank you. Ah, lead on."

The Dalek says, "Follow me."

"What was that screaming?"

"A prisoner," The creature tells them.

"Where?"

Their guide says, "Follow me. I will show you."

He gives no warning, using all his strength to push the imposter over the edge and into the canyon below. Waterfield tries to stop him but Jamie catches the other man. The Doctor frowns, "Think I don't know my own mark? That wasn't the real Omega at all."

"Up to all sorts of tricks, aren't they?" Jamie snorts.

"Oh, please. We must reach my daughter."

They make good time into the city past that, but even as the Doctor nears his TARDIS he can feel the trap closing in on him. "No, no. I don't like the look of this. Back the way we came."

The large dark space even makes Jamie nervous. But as they turn to retreat they are cut off by a black cased Dalek, "Follow me." The lights slowly lift in the darkened room. The Doctor realizes with horror that they have stumbled into the central control room, and that the TARDIS must be right here. They are led up to a ten-foot tall immobile version of a Dalek, fully wired into the city itself. It's eye stock moves to keep him in focus.

"Doctor!" The Emperor Dalek intones.

Jamie is impressed, at least, "Look at the size of that thing."

"So, you are the Doctor?" it inquires.

Smugly the Doctor says, "We meet at last. I wondered if we ever would. I have implanted the 'Human Factor' in the three Daleks that you gave me..." He says softly but outloud so Waterfield can hear, "...When I say run, run! Promise me, Jamie."

The regal Dalek thunders, "Speak louder."

"I was merely telling my friend that the day of the Daleks is coming to an end. Somewhere in the Dalek race there are three Daleks with the 'Human Factor'. Gradually, they will come to question. They will persuade other Daleks to question. You will have a rebellion on your planet!"

"NO!" The Emperor Dalek says, "The 'Human Factor' showed us what the 'Dalek Factor' was. Without knowing, you have shown the Daleks what their own strength is. Your work is not over."

"I won't work for you!"

"You will obey!"

Jamie frowns, "What is the 'Dalek Factor'?"

The Time Lord glances at him, "You want me to guess? It means to obey, to fight, to destroy, to exterminate. I _won't_ do it."

"Watch!" the Emperor Dalek commands. A light settles on the familiar shape of a British 1960's Police Telephone Box.

"The TARDIS, Doctor!" Jamie says.

"You will take the 'Dalek Factor.' You will spread it to the entire history of Earth!" the Emperor Dalek orders. The Doctor turns from his screaming time ship to the huge Dalek with a look of horror on his face.

"No. You can't make me do it! You can't!" The Doctor hollers back at his opponent in shock and defiance.

"You will obey!" the Emperor Dalek's voice booms.

Forgotten behind the three humans until it pokes them the black Dalek orders, "Move!"

Before the Doctor can leave the larger than life voice calls again, "Doctor." He turns to look at it; "You _will _obey!"

Shaken, he scarcely notices the passages as they are herded into the cell where Maxtible, Kemel, and Victoria are held. But he quickly finds the thread he needs to follow if he's to weasel his way out of this and he begins to play his recorder. Behind him Maxtible states what he thinks makes the entire risk to humanity worth it, "Transmutation of metal into gold."

Jamie sits next to his Thete and mumbles, "You mean to say, he's worked against us all, just for that?"

"People have done worse for less, Jamie."

The Scot says, "Look, it's daft though. Metal into gold is an old wives tale."

The Doctor smirks, "Oh I don't know. The alchemists of the middle ages made transmutation their main aim in life. Even in the twentieth century, it's still considered scientifically possible."

"Ah, they didn't succeed though," Jamie counters.

Maxtible snaps, "Of course it's possible."

Jamie says, "Oh, well, I don't care whether it's possible or not!"

"Whether it is or whether it isn't is beside the point. Why are the Daleks doing this?" The Doctor wonders.

"They promised me!" Maxtible shouts.

Rolling his eyes the Doctor counters, "Daleks don't keep their promises."

This makes Maxtible shake his finger at the little dark haired man who is sitting on the floor, "I see what you're trying to do Doctor. You're trying to shake my faith. But I will be given the secret."

At this Jamie cuts loose again, "Oh, well. It won't do you any good, because you won't be able to use your secret! I'll see to that."

"You'll do no such thing!"

But even as the Doctor tries to warn him away with, "Jamie!" the piper flings himself at Maxtible and gets his hands around the other man's throat. It's quite clear that he means to kill him.

It takes the guard Dalek entering the cell to get Jamie to release the choking man, "Move away! Move!"

Victoria's plea further cools his anger, "Please Jamie, do as it says." He throws the man away from himself and turns his back on him. Maxtible gasps for air.

The Dalek warns, "You will not harm this human being. Or you will be exterminated."

The Doctor indicates that they understand and Jamie adds, "Oh don't worry. The very thought of going near him repulses me." The Dalek exits the cell and Maxtible turns his attention to a notebook and calculations. It's clear that he's so set on his greed that even the fate of humanity won't deter him.

The Doctor goes back to his recorder and after a bit Victoria moves over to he and Jamie. "What are you thinking?"

He lowers the recorder and looks at her. She's very perceptive. After a moment he says, "I'm trying to puzzle out a problem, Victoria. The Daleks say I'm going to do something for them. Something I would rather die than do."

Over in his corner Maxtible continues to mumble his numbers. Victoria says, "Perhaps they think you're like him."

The Doctor shakes his head, "Oh, no. The Daleks know me well enough by this time."

"They intend to persuade you then."

He sighs and feels Jamie's hand against his leg, "Oh no. No it isn't that either. You see, there isn't a persuasion strong enough. Not even the offer of all the lives in this room. Five lives against a whole planet? Well, it's not a choice is it? Even if I could trust the Daleks - even if they set us free, we still couldn't go back to Earth. I suppose I might try to take you all to another universe. I might even try and take you to my own planet."

Victoria blinks at him, "Your own?"

"Yes. Oh, yes. I... I live a long, long way from Earth." Then he remembers something, "Oh, just a minute. Maxtible! Arthur Terrall! The Daleks put some kind of control device on him."

Maxtible shrugs this off, "What of it? It was erratic. I always warned the Daleks it would prove too unsatisfactory."

Jamie sneers, "Aye. Well, it's a good thing for you it did fail. They'd have tried it on you next."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It's in the middle of the night and nearly everyone is too jittery to actually sleep. Jamie is next to the Doctor on the floor and they are discreetly leaning on each other. There's a buzzing sound and a black-cased Dalek appears at the door of the cell while a second machine in maneuvered into place. It says, "The secret of transmutation of metal."

This gets Maxtible quite excited, "Yes, yes! The secret you promised me." The older man is ordered to read the figures on the machine after being told that the metal above is liquid. He does so, rattling off, "Fifty-five point eight, four. -- Seven point eight, four."

The Doctor leans over to Jamie and whispers, "Atomic weight and gravity of iron."

The machine is then turned on and Maxtible is ordered to read the figures that appear below, "Nineteen point two. -- Sixty-nine point five. -- Gold! Iron into gold! I told you it was possible! They've kept their promise! It's true! It's true! They have!"

The Dalek says, "The machine is yours."

"Yes. Ha, ha. Yes, Yes!" All Maxtible can see it the greed in his soul.

Even the Doctor's warning fails to stop him, "Maxtible, if you value your life, don't go near that machine!"

The wild haired man wanders toward the promised device, heedless of the danger. His path takes him under a newly erected arch. The brilliant light that switches on as he passes into it paralyzes him. He groans.

Even Jamie is shocked, "Maxtible!"

Victoria, who had settled near Jamie exclaims, "What have they done to him!"

It's clear enough when he's ordered to turn and move to the control room and the reply comes out like it's been spoken by a Dalek, "I obey." The other Dalek exits the room with him, leaving the black Dalek there.

Jamie answers, "They've turned him into a Dalek."

"Yes. The Dalek factor." It almost seems to be gloating.

The Doctor says in dismay, "Is that what you want me to do to the people of Earth?"

"We know you will obey," it informs him.

As it leaves the Doctor stares after it, "Human beings into Daleks."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Given enough time folks do fall asleep. Jamie is scooted down so that he's using the Doctor's thigh as a pillow. The Doctor is curled on his side, secure in the knowledge that Jamie has forgiven him. Maxtible sneaks back into the room and stops by the Doctor, "Doctor. Open your eyes. You are asleep still, but you can hear my voice. I have come to help you. Look at the box." The Doctor recognizes a hypnosis attempt when he hears one and is quite prepared for it. He chooses to play along, looking in the box as instructed and seeing there's an image of the TARDIS there. "I have had your TARDIS placed outside the city. I will take you to it. Rise and follow me."

This will disturb Jamie. He gets up just like he's been caught under the thrall. Jamie tries to catch him but doesn't want to risk waking Victoria, "Hey, Doctor, what are you doing?" As he gets closer to the door the sound of Jamie's voice becomes more urgent, "Don't go near the door! Doctor!" He sets himself to ignore the lad and act the part even as the despair in Jamie's call breaks his heart, "Doctor!" He leaps up to try to drag his Thete back away from the trap. This wakes the others.

It's only after he's gotten a good dose of the Dalek Factor and convinced Maxtible that he's converted by saying, "Stay where you are! That is an order!" that Jamie backs down.

Maxtible seems to be fooled, "We will work together on the Dalek Factor. Follow me."

"I obey!" He intones. But as they leave and Jamie watches with a hopeless expression on his face he thrums the link and thinks, _It's OK Jamie, I'm not converted_.

He follows Maxtible into a laboratory. There's another machine waiting for them here. "Stop!" Maxtible orders. The Doctor plays 'good little follower' and stops. "This machine is for the mass-production of the Dalek Factor. Follow me." The Time Lord docilely trails the man to the next machine. A small capsule sits next to it. "Stop. This machine will transform the thought patterns in this capsule into a steam. The steam will be sprayed into the atmosphere of the Earth."

Oh, so that's what they plan to do? The Doctor's robotic intonation is still perfect, "I must examine the machine." He's betting that is how the arch works too. If that is the case then the original capsule from Jamie's recordings should fit into it.

"Do so." He's ordered before Maxtible leaves him alone. The Doctor makes like he's in deep study for a moment more and then looks around. He carefully establishes that he's alone and moves back to the cell. Once he reaches it he finds the control panel and switches the capsule inside for the one he saved from the house.

He then darts back so the others can see him, "Jamie. Jamie! Jamie!"

The Scot can feel that the Doctor is OK, but he's still not totally sure, "Yes?" He comes to the door anyhow, anxious to make certain of his feelings.

"Jamie, when I give you the word, bring everyone through this archway. Through the door. Trust me!"

"What?!"

Before he can explain further the black Dalek comes into the area, "What are you doing?"

The Doctor drops into his monotone voice, "Take me to your emperor."

"Wait," it orders. Then it critically eyes over the remaining prisoners. While it is doing so the Doctor thinks to Jamie, _Please, trust me! It's safe. As soon as I'm gone bring them through the door_. The Dalek detects nothing amiss and escorts the Doctor away. Jamie waits a quick count of thirty and then ushers the others through.

Amazingly enough, they believe in his impression that the Doctor has managed to gum up the works somehow. Once past the arch Victoria exclaims, "We walked through! All just as though he was..."

Her father cuts her off, "It must have affected him. We saw it happen."

Jamie shakes his head, "But you heard him speak normally just now. The Daleks could have pushed us in here any time they liked. But -- I, uh... I don't know. Well, I... I don't understand. I mean, how do we know we can trust him?"

Victoria can see what her father does not; this issue of trust cuts Jamie deep. He wants to think that the Doctor is someone he can place his faith in. "Surely, Jamie – this is something to hope for. He's not like Maxtible. He cares for you."

Jamie sure hopes she is right.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor is taken back to the Emperor. The huge Dalek focuses on him, "What do you want?"

"A Dalek questioned an order," the Time Lord says.

This does not gain the reaction that the Doctor expects, however. Instead the reply is, "Again?"

Maxtible says, "We have searched without success."

Oh but this is perfect… "All Daleks must pass through the archway door. The Dalek with the human factor will then become a Dalek again - will become as this human and I have become."

The Emperor Dalek orders, "Let it be done!"

His two human-Daleks reply, "I obey!" before marching away.

Jamie is amazed as he witnesses Daleks lining up to go through the arch. The Doctor shows up again, alone. "Go on quickly! Through the door! Follow them through the door! Oh, it's all right. I've changed over the Factors. I used one of the capsules from my test Dalek. I've given them all the human factor! Go on! Go on!"

Jamie catches his arm, "Well, aren't you coming?"

He looks at the lad, "I've got things to do. And I've been through already."

"Ah, well, why didn't it affect you then?"

This makes the Doctor pause. He wants so badly to kiss the lad, right now. "I don't come from Earth, Jamie. Now, down the corridor, turn to the left and find the tunnel. I'll join you there later."

After the Doctor has gone again the Scot steels himself and says, "Oh well, here goes." Nothing happens. Overjoyed he calls, "It's all right, nothing happened! Come on! Come on Kemel. Quick!" Kemel comes through.

But Waterfield shakes his head, "Victoria, I must help the Doctor! I must find Maxtible. He's to blame for all of this."

Jamie frowns, "Och, don't be a fool man!"

"Father! No!" Victoria cries.

But he's made up his mind, "Take care of her." He heads off to find the Doctor and Maxtible.

Jamie tries to reassure her, "Oh, he'll be all right. Come on!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor knows his task. He knows the horror he's about to unleash. But he also knows he must do it. The darkness demands it. Time demands it. If he's to have Jamie he must do this. He gathers up a group of humanized Daleks and leads them to the control room, "Quickly, this way! Follow me Daleks! This way! Come on!" They do follow because they identify him as 'Doctor – Friend' and are loyal to the ones that made them. This would be he and 'Jamie – Friend' if the piper were here. He must not think too much about how he's leading his children to battle. He must not…

The flock with him is met by a black Dalek, "Return to your work."

Beta asks, "Why?"

"Do not question."

At this the Doctor says, "Why not question? What work? Tell them?"

Confused the black Dalek orders, "Silence!"

Beta picks up the refrain, "Explain."

Omaga follows, "What work?"

Then one of the other humanized Daleks asks, "Why obey without question?"

Seeing the only path shimmering before him the Doctor suggests, "Ask the Emperor!"

Omega agrees, "The Emperor!"

Beta seconds, "Yes, ask the Emperor!"

The entire flock takes this as a concurrence and they move forward as a unit. The black Dalek is pushed back. "Keep back, you cannot enter!"

There's only a few more keys to unlock… "Why?" the Doctor prompts. The refrain is picked up by the group. The question echoes through the chamber.

Beta finally adds, "The Emperor must explain."

Out of a sense of desperation the black Dalek turns on his fellows, targeting a humanized Dalek and shooting it. This is the final beginning of the end. "Defend yourselves Daleks! The black Daleks are attacking you!" The flock fans out into a defensive line, ready to take out any non-humanized Dalek they encounter. He urges them forward into the Emperor's chamber, "Come on! This way! Come on!"

Beta agrees, "I will obey."

Omega adds, "But not without question."

The Doctor rewards this with, "That's right. Question!" Waterfield catches up with him and tries to make him break this off, but he can't go yet. "The Black Daleks are attacking every... The Emperor has commanded it."

"Doctor!" Waterfield says, "Hurry man!"

Beta and Omega ignore the human in their midst, "Why?" they press the Doctor.

"Because you question. Defend yourselves. Destroy the Emperor. Or be destroyed yourselves! Destroy the Emperor!"

"Hurry! We must go, Doctor."

"Yes, I know. I'm finished now." But as they turn to slip away a black Dalek gets them in line and fires. Waterfield jumps in front of the Doctor and takes the full blast. This sets the flock around the Doctor into battle frenzy, proving to them that his words were truth. In the middle of this the Doctor kneels by the dying man, "Now lie still. I'll try to get help to you."

"No time for help."

The Doctor sighs, "You saved my life, didn't you?"

Waterfield manages a smile, "Yes. Good life to save." Then the expression fades, "Please, you must... Victoria."

"Don't worry about Victoria. We'll look after her."

"No... time... for... me..." he manages before his life fades. The Doctor regains his feet with a grim expression.

He cries out, "The Emperor has commanded your destruction!" The storm inside begins to build, swirling about him like a tempest in time.

The Daleks around him echo, "Why? Why? Why?"

"Well, your friends are fighting for you!"

Beta pauses, "Friends?"

"Down there. Help them." He points out the rebels, the other humanized Daleks that are battling toward the Emperor and his black Dalek guards.

Omega states, "Friends."

With that the group around the Doctor heads toward the battle, doing the will of the Storm but leaving it behind.

The calls of, "Exterminate! Annihilate them!" chase him as he flees the scene.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie, Victoria and Kemel have made it to the tunnels above the underground city. They can see the impact of the battle through the smoke and explosions that echo through the space around them. They are waiting for the Doctor to catch up. But the familiar voice they hear is Maxtible's not the Time Lord's, "Kemel! Come here!"

The Turk does the only sensible thing, leaving Victoria with Jamie and confronting the man that was once his master. Maxtible grips him and the larger man discovers that he is no match for the super-human strength that the Dalek factor grants. He finds that he's being pushed closer and closer to the chasm. He tries in vain to keep from being pushed over, but it's a battle he cannot win. He glances over and notices that Victoria is in good hands and gives Jamie a knowing nod. When he goes, he'll take Maxtible with him. One way or another.

As he gets closer and closer to his doom Kemel makes a decision. He stops fighting and allows Maxtible's own force to carry them both over the edge. The last and only sound he makes is a cry as he falls. It fades away instead of stopping.

Victoria rushes to the edge and looks over; Jamie grips her and makes sure she doesn't follow him over. "Poor Kemel!"

Jamie manages to get her away from the danger, "Aye. He was a good man, Kemel."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They are outside the city and have located the TARDIS. Jamie finds that touching the side of the odd blue box settles his nerves and restores his shattered trust. Victoria is pacing as much as a Victorian lady is allowed to do. The Doctor finally comes up the hillside in a jog, making like he's being chased by the devil himself. Jamie sees his approach, "Doctor."

Breathlessly the Time Lord catches the Scot by the arm, "Jamie! Jamie!"

"A Dalek nearly caught us, but I... I tossed it over the edge. But... poor Kemel."

This makes the Doctor pause and look around, "Kemel?"

"Aye. You see, he was trying..."

But Victoria cuts Jamie off when she realizes that the Doctor is alone, "Where is my father?" Jamie watches the expression on the Doctor's face become even darker than before. No matter what they have gained here it's clear that his Thete has lost a great deal to get it. Victoria bites her lip for a moment and then presses, "Is... is he dead?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm afraid he is," the Doctor says to her with the greatest of care. "But, he didn't die in vain—" Victoria lets off a slight sob and turns away in her grief. Taking advantage of this the Doctor says to Jamie, "Jamie, we must move along to the TARDIS. It's over there."

The Scottish piper looks at Victoria; "We can't leave her alone, Doctor."

He's glad to see that the concept shocks the Doctor completely, "We're not going to leave her. She's coming with us!" Jamie gives him a smile and moves off to guide Victoria toward the strange blue box.

The Doctor knows that he is going to have to tell Jamie what happened to Alpha, Beta, and Omega… he's not looking forward to that little shouting match. The city below him is burning now and he has a very bad feeling that it is not as over as he would like it to be. But at least he's stopped this plot and he's pretty sure they won't try it again. With a sigh he forces himself away from the graves of his – and Jamie's – Skaro-based 'children'. There will be time to grieve later. Or he can just keep running from the death and pain of it all… He walks up the hill the rest of the way to where Jamie and Victoria are waiting. They've been here long enough. It's time to seek their destiny in the stars.


	8. In you I can trust, It's all about us

A/N: _This is a detailed side story for my Doctor Who AU 'Verse. It's 'All About' Jamie and the Doctor. How they met, what adventures they had, and finally why they were parted. It's a prequel to __**Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse **__even though I'm writing it now, and mean it to be read in conjunction with __**Doctor Who and the Tangled Web**__. This is meant for those folks with no exposure to the second Doctor. This chapter covers the serial "The Tomb of the Cybermen". Scenes that don't have either the Doctor or Jamie directly involved will not be included. Transcripts of the episodes are used as reference for dialogue, along with photonovels where the BBC has lost / destroyed them. Inspiration and Titles come from the T.a.t.u song "All About Us" that was used for the video featuring this ship. This particular episode exists still thanks to Asia TV from Hong Kong. I know, I've got it in my collection. __**:-D **That said, I have taken liberty with the placement of some scenes for dramatic licence.  
_

_Thanks to RiverDeep for the story alert listing and to OtherMeWriter for the review. You are right that the Doctor has a hard time of it when it comes to those he's become fond of. He's an amazing character; quickly allowing people into his hearts even though he knows the chances of them surviving his presence is slim. Even Waterfield, once he realized the man was a good soul, got pulled in. In the case of Alpha, Beta, and Dalek Omega I think he tried to not let them in at all, but he couldn't disavow the traits that were so 'Jamie' about them. And he never could deny Jamie…_

Part Seven

_In you I can trust, It's all about us_

A storm had kicked up on the planet's surface as if Skaro were protesting the loss of one branch of its children. This mimicked the internal conflict that the Doctor himself was swimming through at the current moment. He placed his hand on the outside of the battered blue box, caution making him mentally feel out the condition of his time ship as he settled his fingers on the wooden surface. He'd promised to bond deeper with her but the events of the last few days revealed how dangerous that would be. Now he had to decide if he would in fact go through with it or if he'd delay. Verity looked a little worse for wear in his opinion, slightly mistreated and battered, like his own soul, he supposed.

Jamie is trying not to chatter his teeth together, but this world is bleak and cold. He really wants to go inside the TARDIS now, to be – home, at last. He's missed the feel of her against his mind, the calm of her constant presence. But he knows the Doctor must have a reason for his delay as he pauses with his hand one the door before he lifts the key from his pocket and carefully uses it to open the lock. He then curled his arm over Victoria's shoulders and moved her across the threshold. He turned to look at the Edwardian young woman who he had just escorted into the control room. "There we are! Well, what do you think?"

Jamie slipped into the room behind them as Victoria took in the place, unsure if she was going to be able to cope with this or not. It was, after all, quite a shock he'd been told. Then, he hadn't had that problem. He'd accepted what he saw, knowing that his senses would not lie to him. He was not overly sure about how she was going to cope with this though. For her credit, Victoria was stunned. Unwilling to leave, mind, but stunned none the less. "I don't know," she managed to get out. Then she spots the Doctor's downcast expression. Clearly he's quite proud of whatever this is. " I can't believe it. It's so big! Where are we?"

The funny little man is like a clown, enduring and sweet. His face lights up at her semi-acceptance of the room, "Oh it's the TARDIS." He moves around the controls, "It's Jamie and my home, or at least it has been for a considerable number of years," Jamie gets a soft expression at being included in that statement. Yes, the TARDIS is his home now, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Victoria makes her way to the console where the Doctor is checking instruments, "What are all these knobs?"

Flicking a set of controls the Doctor asks, "What these?"

"Instruments," Jamie tells her. "These are for controlling our flight. You see we travel around in here through time and space,"

"Flight?" Victoria echoes with a light laugh. She can't believe it.

Although it is part a fib, the Doctor jumps to assure her that Jamie has told the truth, "Oh no-no, no-no, don't laugh - it's true. Your father and Maxtible were working on the same problem, but I have perfected a... Ah, rather special model, which enables me – _Us_ – to travel through the universe of time."

At this the pretty gal blinks and frowns, "But how can you? I mean if what you say is true then you must be, er well... How old?"

"Well if we count in Earth terms I suppose I must be about four hundred... Yes, about four hundred and fifty years old," the Doctor gets a mental _Really?_ from Jamie who he rushes to reassure. Victoria and the Scot exchange glances that are both comically similar and worrisome at the same time. "Yes, well, quite. Now, I think Victoria might find that dress a little impractical if she's going to join us in our adventures, Jamie show her where she can find some new ones, eh?" _Thete?_

_That's young still for my people, Jamie. Very young. Its not like I'm going to die on you, my boy._

Jamie looks less than reassured, "Ah, right. This way Victoria..." he leads the new crewmate off toward the wardrobe room but is gone for less time than it would take for the young lady to dress. He grips Thete on the arm and leans in close, "Try to give us a smooth take off, Doctor? We don't want to frighten her." With that he's through the door again, choosing to wait for the young lady instead of remaining with the Doctor.

The Time Lord is slightly put out, "A smooth take off...?" It takes a moment for the buzz from Jamie's touch to wear off and for him to move to the next set of controls, "A smooth take off!? What a nerve!" He lets his mental shields down as he begins the process to place them in the vortex. For a change it is Verity that pulls back from him, lightly brushing against his mind but not pushing for the promised bonding. The Doctor finds this odd but does not question it. Actually it saves him from having to make the decision right away and for that he's grateful. The TARDIS slips into the time stream smooth as silk, for once de-materializing and not fighting her natural instinct to flow with the vortex. It will make it harder to leave, once she decides to do so, but her Doctor needs the safety of this after what he's experienced so she provides it.

The Scottish piper does escort the Victoria to the wardrobe room. And he politely waits outside for her. Well, minus the short fast dash back to the control room that she never even guesses about. The wee Lass is clearly overwhelmed. When she finally emerges with an armload of clothes there's an air of falling apart about her. Jamie takes but one look and offers to take her to the sleeping areas so she can adjust. She is, without a doubt, in need of that. And some soothing over her grief about the sudden death of her father. Jamie rather feels he's not the best person for the job. He's got his own issues to deal with, a Doctor to confront, and he's worried that he might act rashly with how he feels inside at the moment.

Thankfully the TARDIS has shifted some things around, making a small individual room filled with Victorian girlish things that grabs Victoria's attention and rather holds it. "I think this is your room, Lass. The TARDIS, she does things like this for folks she likes." The young woman gives him an owlish look. Jamie sighs. He's put his foot in his mouth again. "Look, I'll be honest with you, I don't know how it works, the Doctor's Time Ship, but I do know that it is advanced enough to share feelings with those that live within it. It's trying to make you feel at home here, Victoria." He prays she just accepts his weak explanation. Otherwise he's going to have to tell her the thing is living, after a fashion, and he's not sure she'd be able to deal with that.

But Victoria has been exposed to Daleks, and science, and her era was one of great scientific advancement, even if it did possess rather tight social mores. So she takes Jamie's words at face value, feeling the wordless invite from the ship itself. Verity knows that the Doctor is grieving too, although not for the same things. She's looking for a distraction, unable to cope herself with the contrast of his sorrow and her own personal anger, unable to see how a handful of Skaro mutants were different from the rest. Quite frankly, Victoria provides it. Once the young woman steps inside her room and closes the door Verity assumes her cat form, dubbed 'Lynx' by another proper lady, Barbara Wright, and proceeds to comfort the girl. Jamie and the Doctor are both clueless about this ability as of yet, and Verity wants to keep it that way for a while longer.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

James Robert McCrimmon did not think of himself as a special individual by any means. He didn't consider himself brilliant or crafty. But he was brave, and sensible, and usually in control of his emotions. Today, however, his control was less than perfect. Or rather it had been for a while now. There were things the Doctor had done, said, hinted at, that made the Scottish piper less than certain about where their relationship was going. The door to Victoria's room had closed with a tiny click. He stood there starting at it until the ship itself gave him the feeling of _go away_. He didn't even question it. Instead he turned and walked back toward the control room, the wool from his kilt swishing as he caught his pace. He found the little dark haired man just stepping into the hallway as he came around the corner, "We ought to talk."

This causes the intense eyes of the increasingly alien fellow to focus on him. There's a stubborn streak about the Doctor that Jamie knows by look. But the Scotsman meets it with his own determined expression and for once the the challenge goes his way. The rumpled Time Lord deflates a bit. It's been a very difficult couple of weeks for both of them. He almost regrets leaving Alexandra. "Yes. I suppose we do. But – the walls have ears you know. I suspect that our _conversation_ shouldn't be overheard."

Really though, Jamie's getting tired of sneaking about. They were open with each other in Alexandra. He misses that aspect of the place more than anything else, "Why should that matter. She's your ship, Doctor. Shouldn't it be safe in here for whatever might need to be said?"

"I've tried to explain this to you – it's not," the Doctor stuffs his hands into his pockets and marches past the lad with his shoulders down. Behind him Jamie turns on his heel and picks up the set stride. "But there's one place that might be, in here. If I can find it."

"Canna ask?" comes the burr from behind.

But Verity is busy with something, either enjoying her flight in the vortex or communing with another time ship or working out some other obscure problem. In any case, she's not responding to the Doctor's thoughts or questions, much the same way he's treated her since his regeneration. It's making him feel rather mixed, annoyed on one hand that he's worked so hard at breaking down the divide only to have her toss a wall up at him, and relieved on the other that he doesn't have to be the one keeping the distance all the time. "She can't see this room, Jamie. It's the one reason why it's safe." The Doctor knows one location, a special place called the Zero Room, exists near the physical centre of the ship. He can make his way there, eventually. Jamie for his part follows wordlessly. After quite a walk, they round a corner to be confronted by large double doors.

"Is this it? Or have ya ended up in another blind passage?" Jamie asks.

The sound of the lad's voice makes the Time Lord's hearts flutter a bit faster. He looks at Jamie. The expression the Scot is wearing tells much about the nature of the impending confrontation. The Doctor sighs. "Yes. I suppose we should deal with this." He almost shies away from crossing into the shielded room, knowing that it blocks his slight connection with Verity more effectively than his own mental abilities ever could. But Jamie is right at his back, and he doesn't want to block his connection with the lad and cause even more harm to their tattered trust. So he reaches out and snags the Scot's hand with a strength that Jamie can't break and crosses into the room. Once they are both inside he pushes the doors closed and releases the piper.

"Ouch, Doctor. No need to hurt me." Jamie begins kneading out the semi-crushed sensation in his hand as he looks around the rather empty white room.

"Now you listen to me!" This time the Doctor is going to have his say, "Don't you _ever_ call me on my judgement again." He steps in front of the piper and shakes his finger at him, "In situations where we're dealing with things like Daleks I know what their mindset is and you don't. They are cunning, evil, dangerous. More capable of building plans within plans than any other opponent I've ever encountered. Everything I did was an attempt to keep you safe and outsmart them."

That was not what Jamie was expecting. "You _used_ me, Doctor. Manipulated me like I meant nothing! You closed yourself off and didn't give a crumb of anything to tell me otherwise. What was I supposed to feel?" The dark haired man puts an hand over his mouth and turns away. He mumbles something musical that Jamie can't make out. "Don't turn your back on me, Thete." The Doctor ignores the warning in the last sentence and steps away from Jamie, too wrapped up in his sudden feeling of grief to really listen to the words being spoken. "This is a bad habit of yours," the piper grips the rumpled coat and spins the other man around. "Every time you start to lose an argument you begin to ignore the cause of it. Did you prefer Waterfield? Did you want to get rid of me?"

"What?"

"Ya heard me. I asked before if you were tired of traveling with a stupid backward piper an' you sidestepped the question."

"Jamie --" The sentence is cut off with a slight thud and exhale of air. Somehow they've backed against the wall. The Scotsman has clutched both hands into the Doctor's coat almost as if to keep from some underlying urge to commit violence. The Time Lord tries again, _Jamie? Never. I never want to get rid of you. _The piper looks into the mobile face of the smaller dark haired man and sees overwhelming sadness.

"Let me in. Let me see."

The Doctor shakes his head. "You don't want this burden, Love. Trust me."

"Why can't you let me make that choice? I tell you that I do. I _need_ to be with you. How can I trust you now if you are not sharing with me?" Jamie doesn't even trust himself at this moment to keep from going off and instead of loosening his grip tightens it by twisting his fists in the fabric of the coat.

The Doctor swallows. "I – sent them to their doom. All of the Daleks with the human factor, they'd all be dead now. Everything I touch I destroy."

"That's not true. It's not. There are good things you build up, like – Polly and Ben. Like – _us_," desperate to make Thete see the truth of it, Jamie does something he's been told to never do inside the TARDIS – he kisses the Time Lord with all the passion he can muster. If the Doctor won't let him into his mind then he'll take what he can from his body. He's been wanting to ever since he backed the Time Lord into the wall at Maxtible's mansion. Somehow he gets the coat half off and the bow-tie at the man's neck loose enough to work the shirt open and expose the left clavicle. He's not really aware of the buttons that go bouncing off or the soft cry of surprise that the other man makes. Jamie's too caught up in his own need to pay over much to the token struggle the Doctor makes as the stronger being is unwilling to physically fight back and further damage their tattered relationship.

"Jamie – please..." Thete's not exactly sure himself what he wants the Scot to do. There's a trill in this lack of control that he's never allowed himself to experience fully before. The built up energy between them is like fire racing over his skin, burrowing through his nerves and not fading as it gets deeper and deeper. It's been too long since the bond they share was allowed full freedom and even now he's trying to suppress it with less and less success. Then the heated moist lips find _that_ spot and his control is shattered with a shuttering flood of intense pleasure/pain. The mental shields fall away and they are one for an eternal moment, suspended forever.

When he rises back to consciousness his clothes are fairly well scattered, his body stiffened and sticky from sweat and other body fluids. Jamie is entangled with him still, molded to his back, skin to skin. The bond is singing with a sense of _right_ that he'd been unaware of missing. He wants to just close his eyes and remain here, suspended in the Vortex forever. Never leaving. Never moving. If he could just capture this fleeting feeling of perfection... even with the memories of the moments before marring it... If he could just hold onto this everything would be OK.

Ben and Polly would understand if they disappeared for days on end. They'd be able to find plenty to do and see inside the ship. They knew the way around and ... wait. Ben and Polly were gone. Then it hit him. _Oh no --- Victoria_! He blinks in his sudden panic and turns to shake the piper. "Jamie. Jamie! Wake up. We've forgotten about Victoria." The lad groans a bit and the Doctor scrambles to his feet and begins gathering up clothes. "Come on, Jamie. There's no telling what she's been up to while we've been – occupied."

_She --_? Jamie thinks for a moment that the Doctor is thinking about Polly. But Polly and Ben are gone. Oh, wait. _Victoria_. "Aye, right." He gains his feet and takes the kilt from the Doctor. Somehow they manage to get their clothes on, even though the Doctor has to pull another shirt from his coat pocket, and rush to the eating area before a sleepy Edwardian lass wanders into the room. There's a announcing ding from the TARDIS as the Doctor hands the girl a cup of tea. Jamie pushes the stack of flat cakes toward her and hopes she doesn't notice anything strange. "Doctor, would that mean we've landed?"

"Um – Yes. Yes it would. But... I'm going to go freshen up before I check on where we've stopped." And with that the Doctor leaves. Jamie echoes that freshening up is a great idea.

Victoria smiles at him, "I think I can find my way to the control room, Jamie. You go ahead."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor had nearly run to his rather more-used-than-not room, seeing as this body did need sleep more than his last one. What wasn't used much was the bathing area. He rarely did things to make himself feel dirty. But the last _argument_ with Jamie left him with an oddly disturbing compulsion to scrub. Perhaps it was the fact that he'd 'lifted' Jamie's memories of his actions and replaced them with a slight fabrication? There was no need for the lad to feel that violence would get him what he wanted and certainly no need to reward it. Now why did he feel slightly nauseous? The Time Lord shook his head and moved into the shower, deliberately removing his clothing only after they were soaked. He had a closet filled with the same garb. This particular set held no special meaning to him. The water was alternatively warm and cool as it drizzled over his skin and he tried to not remember what had happened. He wanted to forget the Daleks, Alpha, Beta, and Omega among others. He wanted to forget Maxtible and his mad scheme for making gold at the cost of all human history. He wanted to forget Waterfield, mild and manipulated that he was... Most of all, he wanted to take back what he'd done to Jamie and find another way to deal with the situation so that their feelings for each other was a strength not a weakness.

He braced his hands against the wall of the TARDIS, ignoring the tremble in them. Verity pinged him again, informing him that they are no longer in the Vortex. _Suspend us here. I'll be there in due time,_ he thinks to her. She detects that he's troubled and attempts to sooth him. _Make the water colder. _ He reaches for soap and a flannel. Verity gradually cools the spray, noticing that he becomes more mentally centred as she does so. For once she thinks she knows what his problem is. Their long separation, the civil war, the near forced rewrite of human history and the underlying threat to his own existence must have shaken him terribly.

She hopes that dealing with this new crisis won't shatter him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie and Victoria both arrive at the control room within minutes of the Doctor. They can detect absolutely no change in the strange little man, as he's once again dressed in his typical frumpy frock coat and sky blue wide collar shirt. Jamie has switched his pullover for a button up khaki-styled shirt and his kilt for a different plaid. Victoria's dress of choice is a cute little summery outfit with short sleeves and tiny pin pleats gathering the front of it. The Doctor scarcely glances at them. He's moving around the central column checking readouts. "We're currently in orbit. The planet below looks safe enough, if you are in for some exploring."

Victoria moves to where he's standing, "Where are we?"

"Telos. Although I'm not sure why. Usually there's a reason though," the Doctor replies. "I think we should land and find out what is going on."

"Alright," Jamie says. That settled, the Doctor presses the button giving Verity free reign to land them on the surface. She manages to make a smooth ascent and touchdown. Victoria's knee length dress is rather more fitted than the Doctor would have expected her to wear although she has chosen sensible heels and has a rather roomy patchwork bag. He's not sure this outfit is much better than the full skirts she arrived in. But she seems at ease in it so he keeps his mouth closed, choosing instead to open the doors and gesture his companions out.

The landing point is in rough terrain, but the echoes and clouds from the recent blasting is enough for him to peg the direction they need to go. Seeing Victoria have trouble with the path he takes her hand and begins assisting her. He's moving backwards so Jamie's mental, _There's people hiding behind the next rise, Thete,_ doesn't really surprise him.

_Somehow, I was afraid of that. Don't do anything rash._

_Now ya know I wouldn't._

The Doctor focuses on Victoria, "Just a bit further, that's right. Climb here. Try stepping in my footprints. Up like this. Over the top. All right?" She nods to him gripping his hand as if she'd fall without it there to guide her. They are just coming level when the sound of movement alerts him to how close the other group is. He turns to block Victoria from the threat.

Two men have moved out from their cover and one has leveled a gun at him, "Hold it right there friend!" The Doctor notes that the one with the gun is a light complexioned fellow, well built and quite fetching. He looks to be perhaps security, or maybe a leader. The other man is darker haired and clearly taking orders from the first. This noted, the sensible thing to do is to pay attention to the one with the gun. His arms rise into the air to show he's got no weapons or intention of posing a threat in any way. Jamie steps around to further protect the lass they are with.

"Well, if you put it like that, I certainly will!" The Doctor blusters out.

There's a few others now coming over he sees, one of which is referred to by title, "Did you hear that professor? English!" The man speaking is wearing a plaid shirt and seems to be the assistant of the group.

The professor, who sports a modest beard, nods, "Yes. All right Hopper."

With this the man holding the gun lowers it much to the relief of everyone there. The Doctor lowers his arms as well, with seeming caution, "Oh, thank you."

They are not fully out of the woods yet, however. The professor seems to be the one in charge here and now he demands some answers from the new arrivals, "OK, who are you and where have you come from?"

Hopper glares at them, "And you'd better have a good story!"

"Aye, maybe you'll not get one!" Jamie counters, matching the man's glare.

Hooper snarls, "Listen fella, we're not playing games!"

The darker haired man that had been quiet before much adds, "You'd better listen to him!"

But the Doctor, typically of him, has already taken in the entire situation, including the not so distant doors and the visible blackened damage to them from the trap being set off. He also can see the body just lying there, ignored, on the ground. The glyphs on either side of the entrance tells him more than he ever wanted to know. He'd better stop this, whatever the plot might be. "Now what's been happening over here?" The sudden switch in mode throws the others off and he quickly covers the distance before anyone can call him on it.

A dusty skinned, dark haired man moves to block the Doctor's path, "He was killed the moment you made your appearance!"

The Time Lord sidesteps the fellow as he speaks, "Ah, and you think we did it." He kneels and studies the body without touching it, "Oh no! I can assure you that we had nothing to do with the death of this man!" none of the others move to stop him now, and he carefully begins a professional examination of the body, looking at the condition of his clothes, his hands and feet, his palms particularly and the melted soles of his shoes. "He appears to have been electrocuted," he finally announces. Then the Doctor glances up at the others, meeting the dusky skinned man's black eyes. " Trying to open these doors perhaps?"

The professor's assistant says to Hopper, "He seems to know all the answers."

The blond fellow has already switched his opinion on these three. He might not like the Scot much, but the funny little fellow seems much more pulled together and intelligent then his own 'boss' is, "Wise guy."

Another member of the semi-uniformed group adds, "I think this fellow must be the member of a rival expedition."

The Doctor clambers back to his feet, "Expedition?"

"We've tried to keep it a secret, unsuccessfully now it appears," the professor adds with a frown.

"Look at him! Archaeologist written all over him!" the other man agrees.

The Doctor runs with it, "Really? Does it show?"

"There, you see?" the unnamed fellow continues "It's impossible to keep a secret in the scientific world!"

Victoria is alarmed, "Doctor, what do you mean?" Fortunately there's too much going on for the others to pay much attention to her confusion.

But Jamie has played this game more often than not, and knows the drill now. After his attempt at truthfulness back in the 1960's and it's near explosive backfire he plays along with the Doctor's scheme knowing that it could be a matter of their lives or deaths at stake, "Tell them Doctor, go on, tell them."

Putting on superior airs the Doctor puffs himself up, "No." The he glances over at the professor, "Not until they tell me what the purpose of their expedition is!"

The man falls for it, blurting out why they are there without even thinking about the challenge, "This is an archaeological expedition. We are searching the universe for the last remains of the Cybermen!"

At his back, Jamie goes taunt with alarm, "Cybermen!" The Doctor knew the metal monsters had to be involved somehow, but to find a group looking for them – well. No wonder they were here. Then the Scot calms slightly, "You mean to say, they came from here?" It helps that he's put a hand on the Doctor's back under his coat and that the Doctor seems to have expected the Cybermen to be here at the least.

"But of course, Telos was their home. This is the entrance to their city," the professor says, as if it is general knowledge. The Doctor raises an eyebrow but says nothing.

The other man adds, "We know they died out many centuries ago, what we don't know is why they died out."

Hopper calls to a few others, "Callum, Rogers, get him back to the rocket, I'll be with you in a minute." As the two uniformed men move to the body and begin retrieving it he turns to the professor and moves him further away from the Doctor's party, "Well that's that. Are you coming back to the rocket with me Professor?"

"What for?" the bearded man asks.

"You're not going on with this are you? Look I don't know if these people have anything to do with it or not, but one of my men has just been killed! You're not paying that kind of money!" From this the Doctor concludes that Hopper is a captain and the uniformed men are his crew, while the others have him on hire.

The professor frowns, "Yes, I suppose that's quite true."

"Come on let's go. We'll wait for you back at the ship," the captain says as he heads back to the rocket.

But the Time Lord has already come to his own conclusion and knows there's got to be a reason he's come here. Something, or someone, is set on changing the course of history and he must set this to an end. The best way to slip a trap is often times going through it. He can't peg which one is the deranged one yet, but he knows he will before this is over. He looks at Jamie who gives him a frown and head shake. But the Doctor cannot run away from the evil that lurks here. "The problem, I take it, is to open these doors, right?"

The dusky skinned man snorts, "Hah, brilliant!"

"That is the problem," the professor agrees. He's rather taken by this new fellow, and immediately trusts him. He sees no issues with sharing the spoils of academic prestige that might come from this study.

"And we would prefer it if you returned to wherever you came from!" says the darker complexioned man as he steers the entire other group even further away. He's attempting to convince the professor that they really do want these three newcomers to leave, but not doing a very good job of it.

Jamie leans over to the doctor and says rather low, "Oi, not very friendly are they Doctor?"

Victoria is more than ready to leave already, "Oh yes, do as he says!"

The Doctor sadly replies, "I'm afraid that that became impossible the moment that name was mentioned."

She blinks at him, "What name?"

"Cybermen!" he tells her.

"Cybermen? What are they?" Victoria asks.

The Doctor ignores her question, "We must stay!"

Of course Jamie knew this was coming but still... "Oh Doctor!"

"Oh must we? I don't like the look of those things at all!" She motions to the glyphs on the sides of the doors, guessing correctly that they are images of cybermen.

The little frumpy man takes her hand and squeezes it as he gives her an apologetic nod. Jamie closes his eyes for a moment and then looks at the Doctor before nodding his agreement. If Cybermen are here, they must be fought, this he knows. It's not exactly what he'd hoped for as Victoria's introduction to this lifestyle, but then nearly getting caught in a flooding Atlantis likely wouldn't have suited her either. The Doctor snags his hand as well for a second and they connect again like two parts of a whole. Victoria doesn't notice the movement as it's behind her and she's still working out exactly what the Doctor intends to do. He surprises her, but not Jamie, when he calls out, "We shall stay and help you with your search."

The dusty skinned man fixes him with a frown, "Perhaps we don't want your help."

"That's just it, you so obviously do, now I'm sure we can agree." At this the professor nods. "I can open those doors for you." With that the Doctor retrieves a device from his pocket.

"It is our problem, and I suggest you take this ridiculous expedition of yours off this planet!" the black-eyed man orders.

Jamie stands up to him this time, "It seems to me that we've got as much right to be here as you have!"

At this the professor steps in, "Of course you have! Mr Klieg, may a I remind you again that you do not speak for this expedition?! I am it's leader, you and Miss Kaftan are only here on sufferance!"

At this Mr. Klieg turns on the bearded fellow, "Oh thank you, and whose money is paying for the hire of that rocket?!"

Miss Kaftan butts in, "Mine!"

"I thought I made it quite clear that your financial support did not entitle you to a say in the running of this expedition!"

Seeing that she's now at peril of being kicked off this party the dusky skinned woman backs down, "Of course it was quite clear, was it not Eric?!"

Eric Klieg also back pedals, "Of course. No-one questions your leadership."

Having watched the power play, and noting fully who the players are, the Doctor beams at the professor, "Ah, good, that's all settled." He brandishes the little rectangular black device with it's small dial meter at the top for everyone to see and declares, "And now we shall open these doors!"

"What?" Jamie tries to catch him as he moves out of range and toward the trapped portal. _Thete, have you lost your mind?_

The professor cautions, "Now careful man!"

His assistant echoes, "Hey look out!"

And Victoria picks up the alarm, "Doctor!"

The mass outcry does not deter him. Not that he throws all care to the wind, or anything, but-- there's no reason to not at least check the trap on the doors now. He suspects that the charge is fully drained already. And really, if you're going to go searching for cybermen, you should think to have equipment to deal with the various traps that the metal men are so famous for using. He wonders if anyone has thought to test the air here for nanobots. Likely not. He gingerly reaches up and ever so carefully places the device, a magnetic voltometer, against the door. He just as carefully removes his hand and then peers at the voltage readings. Just as he thought. The trap, once sprung was not quickly reset, "It's perfectly safe now." with that he snatches the black box back off the door and slips it back into his pocket.

This action causes the fellow in the plaid shirt to shout, "You'll be killed!"

He's echoed by the professor, "No don't touch it!"

The Doctor, fully sure of his readings and knowing that there's absolutely no electric power running through the handles now, takes a hold of the right door with both hands and tugs. He could get this open, being strong enough, but he's not got the leverage for it. He's just too short. "I'm afraid it's beyond my strength," he concludes.

"Let me Doctor!" the Scotsman offers. He's not fearful now, seeing the smaller man try it and not get zapped. The Doctor steps out of his way and offers him the shot at it. Jamie gives a mighty effort, but frankly it's beyond normal human ability. His attempt doesn't even budge the doors, "Aye, well I've not had much exercise lately."

In the interim the Doctor has spied someone that he thinks has both the leverage and the strength to get the doors open. He's a tall dark man, imposing in his height, and silent for the most part. Not hearing Jamie's excuse for his inability he says, "Quite." then he looks up, way up, at the tall man, "I think here is a gentleman who can open these doors for us."

Miss Kaftan jumps in, still fearful after her last gaff, "He is my servant! I will not have him risk his life!"

"Surely it was for just such a contingency as this that you insisted we bring him with us?" the professor asks her. She glares at him.

But the Doctor sidestepped the entire issue by appealing directly to the fellow, "Oh, there's no danger now, unless of course he's afraid." At the implicated sense of fear the man steps forward, having decided that if this strange fellow and his skirted boy can risk those doors then so can he. He does not step around the Doctor, rather advancing on him. The frumpy gent beams at him, not the least be intimidated, "Oh, no-no, he's not afraid..." Then he backs out of the way so that the tall man has access to the doors. In a show of great power, he manhandles the huge thick things open, one at a time, starting with the right side. After the portal is cleared the others gather around and peer into the darkness beyond. The Doctor suddenly realizes that these crazy people don't even have a wit to be careful, "No WAIT! Wait! I would be very careful in there if I were you!"

The fellow in the plaid shirt looks over at the Doctor, "But why wasn't Toberman killed, why weren't you killed?"

"The poor fellow who died drained all there electricity out through his body, it's perfectly safe to go in there now," the Doctor replies to him.

Eric overhears this, "Come on then, we're wasting time! ...Of course, after you Professor!"

They all swarm into the chamber beyond ignoring the caution that the Doctor has been preaching and continues to, in fact, "But I'd still... I'd still be very careful if I were you, very careful indeed!" He soon realizes that he's not being listened to. He reaches out to Victoria, assuming that she'd be right there with he and Jamie, "Come on let's go and join them." The buzz from the contact makes him glance over at the lad, who seems to have been thinking the exact same thing . The both frown, drop each other's hands and turn to look back at the lass. She's still standing in the exact same spot she's been in, having not moved at all. "Come on Victoria!" he tries. But she seems frozen, so he deflates a bit, realizing that this is not her choice. And perhaps she's not so cut for this as some of the others he's had with him over the years. He moves back to her side, Jamie mirroring his movement. "You look very nice in that dress Victoria."

The maxim to be polite has been so drilled into her that she automatically snaps into the conversation, "Thank you. Don't you think it's a bit...?"

" ... A bit short?" He cuts her off, trying to keep her focused, "Oh I shouldn't worry about that, look at Jamie's"

The piper been ribbed enough by Ben to have his hackles rise a bit, "Hey I'll have you know..." but the Doctor gives him a significant look and he gets the reason behind the statement, "Oh, aye." They manage to do a slight bit of flirting over her head for a moment.

"Come along, come along, lets go and see what the others are doing shall we? Come along," the Doctor and Jamie both snag the nearest arm, sliding their other across her back. That they actually make contact with each other too is besides the point. It seems now that their bond is back to normal, and they both want to keep it that way. They guide the young woman forward into the the very large interior past the doors. It's an amazing transformation that occurs once the Edwardian gal is through the portal. The lights have come on, and it rather reminds her of the Doctor's ship because of the size and alien nature. There's buttons, levers, dials... everything is sleek and metallic. She quickly gains her bearings and pulls free to look around. The Doctor watches her for a moment and then thinks to Jamie. _Well done._

_I've had a good teacher, _Jamie thinks back before he too begins to take the place in. The Doctor's mental touch stays with him, as though facing these things once more requires all the support he can get. Jamie does not deny him that as he moves around the edge of the room, carefully plotting out every part of it in his mind so that if need be he can move through it in the dark. Victoria's expression has taken on a look of wonder, "Mercy, just look at this place!"

Indeed, the Doctor is looking. This chamber alone is quite large. He guesses though that things are not what they seem. It's doesn't look like a city entrance to him. Cybermen don't need tables, for example. They don't really need to rely on levers and switches. In fact he expected that the advanced creatures would have more of an intuitive system of direct link-ins if this was all for personal use. No. This is something else besides. But what? He moves to the right to where the wall long control panel is, noting the side doors to either end of it. There's a power dial above it, currently set to stasis, which is particular in its own right. Two of the expedition are already studying the layout, "These controls are of their earlier dynasty." _No, they are not,_ the Doctor thinks as he glances at them. Rather they are quite 'retro' looking. As if this were all set up for some purpose, as yet unknown.

The professor's assistant counters, "Not so very early as all that by the look of it. Look John!" he points out a design that keys this to the very late period.

John gets rather annoyed with him, "Yes, I'm quite capable of making my own deductions thank you!"

"All right!" the fellow in the plaid shirt throws his hands in the air and moves away. He knows he's right. He also knows that as the junior member his observations are not going to be listened too.

Jamie steps up behind him, having finished his pre-battle analysis of the room, "Have you ever seen the like of it Doctor?" Scenes of previous encounters flash between them through their connection. There's nothing exactly like this no. But near enough for Jamie to realize that this is not a 'city' by any means. He's pressed the Doctor to be more open with him and can't complain about the influx of information, much of which goes right over his understanding. Still, it's very easy to get caught up in the mental stream and he's grateful for the Doctor's spoken words.

"Not exactly Jamie, but very nearly."

Before Jamie can ask for clarification the professor calls from the hatch on the other side if the room, "Now that we're all here..." The causes everyone, the Doctor included, to move over to him. " - now that we're all here, I think we'd better take stock of the situation." At this he gets a sea of nodding heads. "This appears to be a dead end, the only way out appears to be through that hatch."

Miss Kaftan asks, "Are there no doors?"

"No, apart from the entrance," the professor insists.

Jamie can feel the Doctor getting ready to burst everyone's sense of ego at any moment, even before the his voice rings out, "And the other two, of course."

John turns to look at him, "Two other doors?"

It's like putting a genius in with Idiots, sometimes, Jamie thinks. He knows there are other doors. He's felt them from the change in air drafts as he made his circuit of the room. How can these people call themselves observant? "Oh yes, one in that section, and one in that section over there." The small dark haired Time Lord gestured to the two silver panels to either side of the control bay. "Activated, I imagine, by this simple logical system over here." With that he moves down to the far set of levers and glances at them before making a seemingly random set of movements with them, "Um, here we are, I think..." The right door slides open smooth as silk. For something several centuries dormant it moved like it was made yesterday. "Ah splendid, splendid! A simple logical gate." A few more levers are shifted and the left door also opens. Jamie tries to suppress the eye roll over how smug Thete is feeling at the moment.

Eric steps over to them, "Doctor, you seem to be very familiar with this place."

"Oh no, not really, it's all based upon symbolic logic of the same as you use in computers. The opening mechanism for this door... An OR gate I think you call it-"

He's rudely interrupted, "Yes, yes, I see that, but how did you know in the first place?"

"Oh I used my own special technique," he's not going to needle this fellow, no... he won't. Unless...

"Really Doctor, and may we know what that is?"

Unless the fellow deserves it. And it seems perhaps he does, "Keeping my eyes _open_ and my mouth _shut_." With this the Doctor snags Jamie by the hand and moves away from Mr. Klieg. Jamie sends him a wave of approval before the the cool fingers release his with a slight feeling of amusement.

Meanwhile the professor is organizing, "We're far too many to explore together, I think we'd better divide up." He turns to John, "If you, Mr Viner would take," he motions to the right side portal, "that door with Jamie and Mr Haydon." John Viner nods. The professor continues, " Mr Klieg, the Doctor and myself will make up the other party."

Thank goodness for women's lib, the Doctor thinks as Victoria steps in, "Well what about us?"

"I think the women had better remain here," the bearded man states.

Again, Victoria protests, "Oh rubbish! We can make a party!"

At this Miss Kaftan adds, "Certainly, with Toberman to guard us we need fear no-one." At this the tall dark man steps up to her side.

The professor blinks and then agrees, "Right, er, Mr Klieg, will you take them along with you?"

"I prefer to stay here." The dusky skinned man is still smarting from the Doctor's insult.

"As you wish. Er, Mr Viner will you go along with the women?" the professor asks.

While John is put off by the change in crew he graciously concedes, "If you like..."

At the very least he gets a look of gratitude, "But get back to the spacecraft by 16:30. You all know the temperature drops at night, so we'll meet back here at 16:25. If anyone is missing that'll give us an hour to look for them before we have to leave," the professor orders.

It's not a very long time, really. John is eager to get in as much looking about as he can, "Come on then, we might as well try that opening over there." this is, of course the left door not the right one. He assumes that Jamie and Mr. Haydon will still get that route.

Behind him Miss Kaftan snatches the younger woman's hand and tries to rush her that direction too, "We'd better keep close together."

Victoria slips her hand free, "Erm, I'm all right thank you." They head off through the portal.

Meanwhile Haydon is happy to have gotten 'lead' in the second party, "Come on Jamie."

Jamie glances to the Doctor. _Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut, that's good advice. _The Time Lord winks at him. Jamie turns to the other young man, "Right." The pair head down the right side passage.

The professor has turned his attention to the hatch, "Now to concentrate on this, whatever it is. This hatch must lead somewhere and there must be some opening mechanism." He turns to the Doctor, who has thus far provided them with the most headway. If anyone can solve this, the funny little man can. "Erm, what was that about symbolic logic, any ideas?"

The frumpy fellow turns from the left door to look at him, "No, not really. I think it's about time we gave Mr Klieg a chance to show off his archaeological skills," this is punctuated with a broad grin and chuckle, "I love to see the experts at work, don't you?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie can't deny that this place worries him. He knows these creatures caused the Doctor to die once. He knows that it's a fight that can't be walked away from. There's a reason for all of it, but he's not sure that he's the one to be trying to figure parts of it out. He follows Haydon into the room at the end of the hallway, noting that it is a rather short dead end. "Hey, you know it's just struck me, all the corridors in here are as light as day, yet there are no windows!"

"Alpha mason phosphor," the other man says, continuing happily when Jamie expresses confusion, "It's a lighting system that never goes out, works by letting cosmic rays bombard a layer of barium..."

It doesn't help much... "Oh aye. That, eh..."

Lucky for Jamie, Haydon doesn't seem to notice his total lack of comprehension. "Point is, what was this room used for?"

Something small and silver catches Jamie's eye. He bends down to pick it up, "Well possibly for raising caterpillars." It's the other fellow's turn for confusion, but Jamie shows him what he's found, "Like this one."

Alarmed, Haydon cautions, "Hey, for heavens sake watch out until you know what it is!"

Jamie knows its something Cyberman related. He also knows that it seems inert. He knocks it on the head with a knuckle, "Och, it's as dead as a stone!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Klieg's taken a seat at the table with a notebook and pen. He's trying to work out what the Doctor knows already, and being less than successful at it. The professor been as giving as he can, having never anticipated that this would end up being about computer code. "Well?" he finally asks.

"Well, the basis of this code is binary to digital conversion with a intervening step involving a sort of Whitehead logic," Eric informs him. Then he continues, "Well, once this first series is complete, there is no more to be done!"

The fellow has totally missed the mark. Perhaps he should try to make them stop? The Doctor considers this, "Yes, but why do it at all?"

Flabbergasted, the professor looks at the smaller gent, "Really Doctor, for an archaeologist you seem to be curiously lacking in curiosity!"

Frankly this entire thing smells, like a Time-Lord-catching trap... He blurts out, "Some things are better left undone, and I have a feeling that this is one of them!"

"What do you mean by that?" asks the man that has been struggling with formula for the last few hours.

The Doctor's next words stab his effort like a razor sharp knife, "Well it's all too easy isn't it?"

This causes an uproar, "Easy?! Everything here is designed to keep their secrets, whatever they are, insoluble!" counters Klieg. And the professor backs him up, even though his words are rather overlooked.

"Insoluble?" The Doctor says, amazed. "Oh I wouldn't say that..."

"But take this mathematical sequence for example. I'm really no nearer to it's solution, I've tried every possible combination, now you'd hardly call that easy!" Eric continues.

The Doctor takes the offered pad, pulls his own pencil, and reads over the notations as if it's children's play on numbers (which for him, it is... but that's another matter altogether). He finally says, "Yes, well, what you've done here is mostly right." The 'expert' makes a sarcastic bid of thanks and the Time Lord casts him a sideways look of annoyance. He's going to explain this to him once and see if he gets it. Then he's going to wash his hands of it. "You see if you take any progressive series it can be converted into binary notation. Now if you take the sum of the integrants, and express them as a power series, the intercese show the basic binary blocks! Only I wouldn't do it if I were you..." Eric blinks. It was – easy... How did he over look such a simple thing? The Doctor repeats, " Oh no, I really wouldn't do it!"

Klieg shakes his head and begins to cross the room with excitement, "Of course, you're right!" He can see now just by looking how to make this work. He begins working the series of levers and buttons, "Look! Sum between limits of one and nine one integral into power series, yes! yes! Then you differentiate..." The long sleeping cyberman 'city' begins to revive, a deep vibration of alien power rumbling into wakefulness deep below them. The Doctor looks at the dial and takes in the information now lighting up. To the right lies a weapon's testing center. To the left a rejuvenation chamber. And far below... storage areas. And now they all have power.

"You fool! Why couldn't you leave it alone!" the Doctor admonishes Klieg. It's really aimed as much at himself as it was the other man. He should have kept his mouth shut.

The professor catches himself as the room rumbles, "What's happening?"

"I dunno..." the Doctor fibs, "Perhaps the Cybermen aren't quite as dormant as you imagine! We must find out what has happened to the others!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

While Haydon has been exploring the room, Jamie has been keeping an eye both on him and carrying around the metallic caterpillar. He glances over at something, noticing the vibration coming up through the floor and then catches movement out of the corner of his eye. He stares down at the mental creature again but it's still and quiet, just as dead as it was before. It's enough to make him comment on it however, "That's strange, I could swear that that thing moved." He taps it, just to make sure.

The young man with him snorts a bit, "You're seeing things old chap! Come and look at this, the whole control panel is active suddenly. I don't know which button to press first!"

That makes the Scot suddenly very careful, "Oh, I wouldn't touch it if I were you!"

"I think I'll try this one," Haydon says as he moves a lever. "Nothing!"

But Jamie's more observant, "Hey wait a minute, what's happening, it's getting dark..."

"Hey look at the far wall!" The wall is alive with hypnotic patterns...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor can feel that Jamie's not in danger, intensely curious about something, almost to the point of feeling compelled, but not in danger. He can't feel Victoria, though. She's not connected to him the same way Jamie is. And unlike Ben and Polly, he has no idea how keen her sense of danger is. Because of this when Viner comes back into the main room babbling about not being able to get the door open, he is already five steps down the left hallway. He spots Miss Kaftan moving from the coffin like door back to the controls and quickly moves to stop her as she sets about pulling levers and pushing buttons. If he didn't know better he'd say that she's already worked out exactly how the logic dictates which controls do what. He catches her hand, "I wouldn't touch the projector controls if I were you, someone might get hurt!" she glares at him as he moves the last lever back into the power down position

Then Viner, who was right behind him, says, "There must be some way to release it Doctor." and her face transforms into innocence, as if she's trying to pull over that her actions were solely designed to get the door open.

The Doctor is not buying her unspoken story. He lets go of her before he's tempted to crush her hand and turns to the controls himself, "Yes there is, now let me see..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

James McCrimmon figures he's in a bit of trouble. He can hear the other man calling, "Jamie, Jamie don't watch it!" but it's really rather too late. He's transfixed and not even the foreign weight of the watch on his wrist can pull him out of it.

He can hear his own voice as though someone else is speaking, "I must, I must, I can't seem to take my eyes off it." It's as if he cannot control his own body, or like he's not in it at all... Maybe he's retreated to his link with Thete? Somehow the pattern is getting larger, and he's not seeing anything else but that, "I don't want to take my eyes off it... I don't want to take my eyes off it..." There's a hand on his arm, tugging him, but he's not able to respond to anything other than the call to move forward.

"Stop, Jamie!"

But the closer he gets the less control he has, and now even his mouth slips from him, and his awareness is limited to a sense of compelled understanding, "Yes, yes, I see it now!" Although what it might be he doesn't know... suddenly the wall goes blank. He's standing there blinking trying to make sense of what just happened.

"Are you alright?" Haydon asks him.

Jamie's not sure. He rubs his head and tries to remember what he was doing and where he is, "Oh... where have I been?"

"You've been under some form of hypnosis," he's informed.

But that makes no sense. He knows this even without what he's seen in the Doctor's mind about these creatures, "That's ridiculous, what would the Cybermen want with a hypnotising machine?!"

Haydon takes this as a good point, "Yes, you're right, it must be for something else! Wait a minute, know what it could be?" He waits for Jamie to prompt him to continue, "Some kind of target! I remember reading about this somewhere, they used to have something like it on Earth, years ago."

This makes even less sense then the hypnosis. Confused, Jamie quires, "But how does it work, which bit do you aim at?"

The fellow in the plaid shirt is on a roll now, fully sure he's deducted the correct thing, "There's a subliminal centre which you're trained to see..." Jamie tries to get him to explain in more detail but he's already moved to the testing phase, "Come on, lets run the whole thing again and see what happens, but keep your eyes off the wall! Now you work the controls this time, and I'll watch."

Jamie's none too sure, he's not even positive he fully understands what Haydon is looking for, but he's trusting, just as he is with the Doctor. If Haydon wants it done he'll do it, "Right."

The other man prepares for his experiment and says, "OK press the buttons!" And Jamie does, careful to not stare at the patterns himself again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Some time has passed, and the Doctor has puzzled out the slightly different controls in this room. He's very concerned that Victoria is suffocating inside that coffin like chamber, but dare not risk her further. "Yes I think this is the sequence. Stand by to let her out will you." Viner crosses over to the closed door, quite concerned. Miss Kaftan, however stays hovering over the Doctor's shoulder. He decides to treat her like a simple child, physically moving her so that she can't see what he does, "And if you, my dear, would stand well clear, thank you! Right!" Once he has her out of the way he turns back to the controls and pushes the single lever needed to open the door. Victoria splutters for air, gasping and fearful. Viner offers her his hand and she shies away from him. The Doctor swiftly crosses to her and helps her out of the alcove, "Victoria, are you alright?" She clings to the odd little fellow like there's no tomorrow for a long moment until she feels him return her hug. "It's all right."

"Oh!" she half sobs, "Oh I..."

He runs tiny circles on her back, "Get your breath. Its alright. It's alright now..."

She glares over at Miss Kaftan, "I-I I didn't like that very much Doctor!"

"No, I don't expect you did. You'll have to be a little more careful in future won't you? Now come along, we must go and see whether Jamie is, alright, come along," he says as he escorts her away from Viner and Kaftan. He suspects that the dusky skinned woman knew exactly what she was doing, and he does not like it one bit.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They are finally ending this sequence, Jamie thinks. They've tried almost everything. There's dozens of patterns here, but none give any clue as to what the room is for. The wall fades to black. Finally. Jamie relaxes a bit. Then Haydon asks, "Is that all?"

Well, it's not. And there's something about the final button he's been avoiding, but he couldn't say exactly what that might be. "Aye. All except this big button here, what does that do?"

"I'm not sure, but we'll soon find out. I'm going to trace the source of these shapes, there must be a projector somewhere. Look, when I give the word press the button."

He's got misgivings, honestly, "The big one?"

But Haydon has taken charge and is positive that he can solve this minor mystery, "Yes, maybe it works in conjunction with the others."

As the man in the plaid shirt moves back to the far wall Jamie tamps down his feelings of misgiving, "Right, ready when you are." There are times when he feels so very simple and very stupid in comparison with all these advanced, learned people and their big complex words. Surely Haydon knows what he's doing.

"OK, go ahead." At this Jamie presses the button and begins going over the sequence that they'd used before. The lights dim as they have other times, and the pattern starts up on the wall. So far there's no seeming difference with the button pushed.

Then he hears Thete, "Oh Jamie, don't touch that control!"

Jamie doesn't dare take his eyes off the control panel, not even to look at the doorway, "Already have. What's the matter Doctor?"

The only concern that the Doctor is transmitting to him is reversing the sequence before something very bad happens, "Well which one was it?" But he's crossed into the room is standing behind Jamie and the energy between them is sparking across the distance and Jamie is rather distracted by it.

"Which one what?"

Before the Time Lord can explain the trap in the room goes off. It happens so fast that aside from a swoosh, a zap, a thud, and a scream, he's not sure exactly what has happened. When the lights go up Haydon is on the floor, smoking horribly. He catches he breath and forces his awareness down to Jamie and Jamie alone, "What exactly happened here Jamie, what did you do, what sequence did you use?"

Jamie is nothing if not astute. He might not fully understand all the big words but he can tell the Doctor is focused on him and him only. He attempts to match this in order to communicate effectively, "Sequence, how do you mea..? Oh you mean these! Oh, well, I-I just pressed that button and pulled this lever a-a-and then that lever there."

The professor and Viner are both behind Victoria, who has wisely refused to come into the room until she's sure it is safe. "Doctor, I... do you think you could spare us a moment? I..." then he spots his assistant on the ground,"Haydon! What's happened?" Which is what the Doctor is trying to figure out... If they would just shut up and let him get the information from Jamie as to what they were doing.

Viner nearly screeches, "He's dead! Don't you see he's dead!? It's this damn building! It's alive, it's watching us! It'll get us all - we've got to leave! We've got to get out this building, it's deadly! They'll kill all of us if we don't get back to rocket!"

The professor turns to the distraught man, "Alright Viner! This is terrible. How did it happen?"

But there's another thing that catches the Doctor's attention, "They?"

"The Cybermen! Didn't you see it?!" Viner cries. Even the professor's attempt to talk him down lack success, as he continues, "I tell you it was a Cyberman in this very room, and it came out from over there! That that screen thing."

"Cybermen? A live Cyberman? My dear Viner, they've been dead for the last five hundred years!"

Jamie remembers now, seeing the Cyberman too, "Yeah he's right!"

"Keep back, you'll bring it out again!" John protests.

But the Doctor is more interested in what killed Haydon, as he knows the shot came from behind, "The question is, what killed him." Convincing the others however might be a bit more tricky.

"But you saw the Cyberman, Doctor," Viner says.

"I saw something. Poor Haydon was looking at that screen in the direction we all were, right?" He is asked why he's stating something so obvious. The Time Lord frowns, "Not so obvious when you consider he was shot in the back."

Jamie mirrors his frown, "In the back?" This is enough to draw the others into the room.

"Are you sure Doctor?" asks the professor.

_Really_. The small oddly dressed fellow kneels down and rolls Haydon over, "See for yourself. Now if the Cybermen didn't shoot him, what did?" Viner and the professor take over examination of the body as Jamie helps the Doctor to his feet. He finds himself drawn to the back wall, "The answer, I think, lies over here. Jamie!"

"Yes Doctor?"

_Please try, dear boy_. "Can you remember exactly what you did, what sequence you used?"

The piper gives him an expression that is half frown and half pout, "Oh I'm not sure Doctor."

The cool hand settles on his upper arm, as those earnest, grey-brown eyes catch his own bluish-green ones. The Doctor has faith in his mind, that he knows exactly what he did, "You must try. I want to-to repeat it all when I give the word."

"Oh very well." _Can't I just think it to you?_

_No, Jamie. We must prove this danger so that professor Parry leaves this place for good._

Viner budges in, "You're crazy man, you'll bring that.. that thing out again!"

"Maybe, I don't know. Now, Jamie!" He has walked the piper back to the controls and then moved over to a safe-ish spot that is distant enough to not have crackling psychic energy surging between them. Really this bond business is getting out of hand if he must maintain such a steady contact with the lad to prevent it from overloading like this. "Whenever you're ready."

Jamie misses the presence and warmth that the tingling connection gives him. He'd much rather have the Doctor standing closer, "Aye, anytime Doctor."

The Doctor looks at Parry and Viner, "Now there is a distinct element of risk in what I'm asking you all to do, so if anyone wishes to leave they must do so at once." Both men stand and stare at him. Jamie actually takes a step or two away from the panel before the Doctor catches his arm, "Not you Jamie!" The flow re-established between them allows Jamie to send the need for the smaller man to stay closer.

Viner appeals to the Scot, "Can't you stop this, he'll kill us all!"

But Jamie knows better. In fact without finding the cause of the blast, he figures he'll be blamed for Haydon's death even though he protested, a bit weakly, he admits, but protested non the less, the entire experiment. This is the Doctor's underlying reason for repeating it. With this in mind he turns back to the controls and begins trying to remember the pattern he'd been using. The Doctor snags both the professor and Viner, steering them back to where Victoria still waits by the door, "Not if you go back against that wall in that corner there, now please." He then comes back over to where the piper is, "Right Jamie!"

The Scotsman takes this as a signal to begin. The Time Lord is close enough to be providing him with a sense of grounding and ability. The faith in his knowledge and retention of what he's observed. Just like helping put the TARDIS back in order, this is a puzzle. He can remember the steps. One thing he does not do however, is push the large button first. Instead he can tell that it turned on the system, and needs to be left on. He gets to the dual levers and moves them. At this point the Cyberman slides back out of the wall and there's a swooshing sound and a blast that leads the the Cyberman lacking his head. The entire thing makes Victoria vent a scream in fear. He feels the Doctor reach past him and turn the system off before it can complete the sequence, freezing both the target and the gun in their places. He turns to see the Doctor approaching the 'live' weapon in the wall. "Now... GET BACK Doctor!"

Victoria is just as concerned, "KEEP AWAY!"

The Time Lord appreciates how protective his companions are, really he does. He's pulled his pencil from his pocket and is taking a careful look at the weapon. It's a late model, built at the height of the Cyberman's power. What is it doing here? "It's alright, I-I think... I think it's alright now. Yes. You see it's-it's just a mock up, a-a model." He glances over just in time to see professor Parry reaching for the opposite gun held by the decapitated Cyberman target. He rushes over to the fellow and catches his arm, "Now no-no don't touch that! That gun may be wired up too."

Parry looks over at him, "It's a trap."

Shaking his head the Doctor counters, "No I don't think so. This is a-a testing room for weapons." He indicates the inert Cyberman target, "This is a purely robotic Cyberman. There's no human material inside it at all, he's a target..." He turns Parry away from it, "...for weapons." Jamie's voice drifts into his mind, _Haydon said he though the wall was a 'subliminal' or something sorta target thing. Or a hypnosis machine. But he couldn't make out what was there. Was it really in vain, his death?_

The little man walks back to the piper's side. _No Jamie. Not in vain. He was right, but Cybermen would have used this to test that their senses were not susceptible to such weakness. _He turns Jamie toward the door. They have seen quite enough.

Parry looks to Viner, "Let's get this poor fellow back to the control room, shall we?" They lift the body and head back to the main room.

Now that everything has stopped and the lights are on, Victoria spots something silver on the floor, "Oh what's that?"

Jamie looks down where she's currently picking the small worm like metal object up off the floor, "Some wee creature I found on the floor there."

To her it looks like a child's toy, or something that has fossilized over time, "It's a fossil."

The Time Lord moves over to the two of them, catching Jamie by the wrist and thinking, _Keep an eye on Klieg._ After sending Jamie out the door he turns his attention to what Victoria is holding, "Now Victoria, let me see that." She holds it up to him, so he can get a good look. He takes it and fiddles with it a bit, noting that it's fully capable of motion, "Yes, it's-it's certainly inactive, but it's not a fossil." Victoria is completely interested, so he places the small worm like robot back in her hand and pulls his diary/notebook out and flips to the section on Cybermen. The drawings are quite good, she notices, although the language is not one she knows. She has to wait until the Doctor begins speaking for her answers. He turns the creature so that it has the same angle as the picture, "Ah here we are, it's a Cyber-Mat."

"Well what's a Cybermat?"

The Doctor points at the worm, "It's one of those." He pockets his book and makes a motion for her to toss it away, "I'd leave it alone if I were you. Come along." He doesn't really pause to make sure she does so, heading back to the main room, fully sure that she will. After a second Victoria catches up to him. "Do remember to keep a careful eye on Miss Kaftan. I don't trust her, Victoria."

"I will, Doctor. I'll be much more careful of her."

They come into the main chamber to find Parry and Viner still trying to figure out where to put the body of his downed assistant, "Right, we'll lay him over there."

As they settle the body down out of the way and mostly out of sight near the hatch, Miss Kaftan spots them and moves over, "What has happened here?"

Parry's already taking stock of who is there, leaving John to answer her, "There's been a terrible accident, he's been shot!"

"Right we're all here. Will we all sit down for a moment Mm?" He motions everyone to the central table. The call goes out for Toberman, who quickly joins them. Only Eric remains too engrossed in his work to listen. The professor gets back up and taps him on the shoulder, "Mr Klieg."

"Leave me alone, can't you see I'm working, or have you forgotten the purpose of this expedition?" the dusky toned man snips.

Parry stiffens and then orders, "This directly concerns my expedition, you will kindly take your place!" It seems as though there's going to be further argument but Klieg grudging takes a seat at the table. Parry steps to it's head position, "Right, I'll come straight to the point. I have reluctantly decided to abandon the expedition and return to Earth."

The other members of the expedition erupt in protest, but Eric's is the loudest, "You can't do this now!"

He motions them to quiet, "I feel as strongly about this as you! This expedition has been my dream for many years. But there were those like Mr Viner here who said that more preparation was needed," at this the fellow indicated nods in agreement, "-more men and equipment. I refused to heed their warnings and the result is that two men have died." It's not enough to stop the rise of protest that he's forced to speak over, "I'm sorry, but we must leave at the first available conjunction. We'll take back all we can for study, of course; but that is my decision and that is what we must do!"

Klieg jumps to his feet, "I insist that...!"

Parry overrides his insistence with a firm shout, "MY DECISION IS FINAL! We leave when the north hemisphere is tangential which will be..." He pulls out his pocket chronometer and tabulates the time on it, "Eighteen forty-two." This makes Eric storm away from the table in anger. Parry turns as everyone else begins to rise as well. Of them only Viner is happy with the decision (and the Doctor, but he's hiding it well). Captain Hopper arrives with a load of supplies that are deposited near the wall, and begins to move toward Parry with his own set of bad news. Perry speaks first however, "Ah, captain Hopper, just the man. Kindly be prepared to blast off at eighteen forty-two."

This gets the professor an eyebrow raise and a firm, "No."

"I beg your pardon? -er - Did I hear you right? You are paid to take orders Captain Hopper," Parry addresses him.

Hopper is pretty sure that the professor is not to blame, as he has no clue as to what is going on, "Not impossible ones I'm not."

"What do you mean?"

Hopper eyes the group over, "I mean the fuel pumps. Some character has balled up the lot!"

The Doctor fears that turning on the power has woken up something deadly and inhuman on Talos, "Or some-_thing_."

The captain can't discount that, but it doesn't really matter. "Well whatever it is it's practically wrecked out chances of getting off this crummy planet!" Suddenly everyone has the sensation that perhaps they are being manipulated by forces beyond their reasoning.... Could the Cybermen still be in control here?

Hopper looks over at the body. Haydon. "I'll take him back to the ship. And I'll let you know more when I return. There's no way any of you are getting onto that rocket until the crew gives me a progress report. I've brought some supplies for you, so you have something, at least." He loads the body up and leaves. All they can do is wait now to see how long it will take to fix the fuel pumps. The Doctor draws Jamie and Victoria over to the steps and settles down with them. Viner slumps at the table. Miss Kaftan and Klieg both seem to hover by the control bank with Toberman nearby. Parry paces.

John finally raises his head, "I don't care what any of you say, I utterly refuse to spend the night on this planet!"

The Time Lord tells him, "I don't think any of us has a choice."

"Well at least we can get out of this sinister building. W-I've recorded all the necessary details, I suggest we all go back to the rocket," with that he starts for the door.

Hopper and one of his men arrive with even more supplies, catching Viner before he can make it outside. The sun is starting to go down now, and it's beginning to cool off. "You make very bad suggestions, did anyone ever tell you that?" He blocks Viner's path only to be shoved to the side.

"I insist."

The captain glares, "You do a lot of insisting. Well I'm going to tell you something now. The first guy that sets foot on _my_ rocketship will stop the repair work just like _that_." he punctuates the sentence with a powerful finger snap. The professor asks how long the repairs will take. Hopper sighs. "Working non-stop without interruption to get that rocket operation, I'd say... maybe... seventy two hours." This is pushing it, as it could take longer, depending on what they find as they work. He's met with outcries of protest. Growling he turns to Parry, "Now look, I can't afford to waste any more time with you guys, but I'll give it to you just once more OK? Now you may not know this but we'll have to practically pull that ship apart to fix the damage. And there's no room for all of you on board - especially with you insisting all over the place. No room to work, gottit?!"

Viner sputters, "But that's impossible! We'd all be out of our minds after spending three days in this place! Have you any idea what it'll be like for us having to spend our time in this deadly building?"

"Well it's not exactly peaches back on the ship! Until I find who broke into the rocket -"

"Or _what_ -" the Doctor inserts.

Hopper clenches his fists, "Ooh, _who_ broke into the rocket, I'm going to be keeping a round-the-clock watch on the ship. I'm going to get off this planet with my skin still fitting tight - all over, alright?"

The Doctor smiles knowingly and echoes, "I see. Alright."

"Now. It gets cold at night. I've brought anoraks, more food. Blankets. There's enough supplies for you all for 3 days here." He gestures to the pile. "I'll let you know when we're ready to take off." With that he departs.

Eric Klieg seems rather – smug, "As we have to stay, we might as well finish our job and fully explore down there - that is if the Professor has no objection?"

Suddenly, with three days to fill and nothing really to pass the time – it seems like a good idea to make the best of things to Parry, "We have no alternative it seems."

The Doctor frowns, "Well well-well can't, can't we all just stay here? It seems a pleasant enough room to me."

Jamie pokes at him, "Hey-hey, you speak for yourself."

Eric tags on, "Of course you can leave here anytime you please Doctor."

"H'oh yes, I was forgetting I-I can can't I?" the little man admits. Although he's not intending to leave until he sure the threat here is eliminated.

Victoria cast him an amused expression, "But you're not going to are you Doctor?"

"No. Not just yet awhile, no. Er, but you and Jamie can go back to the TARDIS if you wish."

She shakes her head, "I'll stay with you."

"Er, Jamie?" he looks over at the piper.

While Jamie wants to go, he knows the Doctor won't leave yet, and he better hang around to keep the meddling fellow out of trouble, "Oh, I'll stay."

Pleased as can be, the Doctor squeezes his hand, "Good." Jamie sighs at the sensation of warmth that the touch gives him. A feeling of total honest devotion. He almost thinks that if he had insisted on leaving, the Doctor would have gone. But then he'd feel guilty. This is the Doctor's life, what he strives for. Fighting the evil here must be done and they are the ones that must do it. He lets the Time Lord pull him to his feet. "Now, er," He lets go but wanders over to where Klieg is puzzling out the controls still, "I think it's about time we gave Mr Klieg some help."

"Thank you, I think I can manage."

Toberman steps in to block, "Stay."

Jamie looks up at the taller man, "Hey, let the Doctor past or I'll..." Toberman is wise enough to know not to threaten Jamie directly, choosing to instead threaten harm to the smaller man he's loyal to. The Doctor puts on hand on Toberman's wrist as he lifted slight by his shirt front. Jamie jumps in even further, "Yes, well... let the Doctor past."

The Doctor is, as of yet, unharmed. He tries to sooth the Scot, "It's okay Jamie." Then he says to Miss Kaftan who has been watching the exchange with interest, "Your colleague has er, very strong hands."

She looks pleased that he's noticed, "Very strong."

"Enough to do a great deal of damage if let loose in the er right place," he adds. The dusky skinned woman thinks about this and then signals Toberman to let him go. Toberman decides he rather likes the Doctor, even if his goals conflict with those of his mistress. He steps aside and lets the little man and his friend pass. The Doctor spares him a smile and moves to investigate what Klieg is doing.

The presence of the frumpy fellow reminds Eric of what he'd said before and the pattern he's looking for seems to fall into place, "That's it! I've got it!" He rushes over to the table where Viner and Parry are. "Finally boolean function of symbolic logic!"

The Doctor trails him, hoping the man is wrong. "Logical, yes..."

Miss Kaftan says, "Everything yields to logic. Our basic assumption, Doctor!"

"Really?" He asks her.

Then Eric rattles off his theory, "Six, cup B four... If and only if...C is cup function of two A." Excited by this he rushes back to the controls and attempts to open the hatch. Nothing happens.

The Doctor says, "I think perhaps your logic is wearing a little thin."

Flustered, Klieg looks back at his pad, "I must have made a mistake. I-I'll do it again more carefully." He moves back to the table, rips out the sheet he was working on before, finds a clean page and starts the calculations all over. Parry and Viner go back to their discussion as to what might exist down that hatch. The Doctor motions for Jamie and Victoria to settle down to wait. It's going to be a long night.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It's near sunrise when Klieg's excitement rouses the napping party which has broken into the blankets and food if nothing else, "Six, cup B four... If and only if... C is cup function of.... Ah, that's it, two F not two A!" The Doctor moves over to the controls as the other man does. He repeats his formula, " Six, cup B four... If and only if... C is cup function of.... _two F_, " He operates the levers that correspond but doesn't notice the Doctor press a button at the far end while he's not looking, providing the final missing bit of logic that this puzzle really needs. The room responds with a higher pitched hum and the hatch that's been bedeviling them swings open.

"The hatch!" Victoria points.

"I've done it! I've done it!" Eric nearly dances in jubilation.

The Doctor catches Jamie's eyes as he says jovially, "Congratulations."

"Yeah, but Doctor y..." Jamie begins. The Time Lord makes a slight movement that cuts him off. No one else notices. _Thete? Why are you helping them?_

_Because, Jamie. I need to know for sure who the enemy is. I suspect but don't know. Besides, if this is what I think it is the machines and stores below us must be destroyed too. _The piper makes a face at him as professor Parry moves to congratulate Klieg, "Excellent! Now to work. It'll be extremely cold down there, we shall all need to put on warm clothing. Mr Viner, will you see about the anoraks?"

As Viner moves to the gear, Eric hastens to confirm, "Ah just a moment - are we all going down?"

"There is safety in numbers," he is told.

But he has another reason to ask, "The er, women as well?"

At this Parry thinks a bit, "Oh, they of course will stay here. Er, in case of trouble, contact the rocket."

Victoria wants to stay with the Doctor. He manages to get her to stay above. Miss Kaftan wants to keep Toberman up above. He manages to get her to let him go down. As the dark skinned man heads down the ladder the Doctor looks at Victoria one final time, "Remember what I said. Be careful." She nods. He descends into the cold metallic passage below.

Upon reaching the bottom, Parry calls, "Hurry up there, we've no time to linger. It's extremely cold down here even with these anoraks." The Doctor signals Toberman to go and pauses to fashion his cloak.

He reaches the others as Jamie says, "Aye you obviously knew what to expect."

"Well, which way do we go?" the Time Lord asks, deferring to Klieg as he wants to find out exactly what the man is up to. The fellow indicates a path that the Doctor's keen eyes pick out as leading to Drone storage. "Yes," he agrees. The party heads that way.

Soon the passage gives way from a metal maze to a large open room. It's bitterly cold here, frost covering the surfaces and crackling underfoot. Jamie blinks at the change, "Hey, what on Earth?!"

The professor takes in an astonished breath, "Behold gentlemen, the tombs of the Cybermen!" He's looking at a triple story wall, made up of cubicles, stacked one on another. They are heavily iced over.

The Scot turns to the Doctor, "Tombs? I don't see any tombs."

"In there Jamie, frozen forever," the Time Lord points toward the iced over wall. " All their evil locked away with them. And so it _must_ remain."

Eric says gleefully, "Like a gigantic honeycomb, like bees. Waiting the signal to arise from their winter sleep."

The small frumpy figure turns on Klieg with force, "A signal that they're never going to get!" At least he knows now what the plan might be. He hopes to Time herself that he's wrong.

Viner brushes off the argument, "We'd better get busy, every thing's got to be recorded. It's too cold to stay down here for long."

"Unless we find some way to warm things up..." Eric mumbles. He turns his attention fully to the near control panel, quickly noting that the logic is different here. It will take him some time to plot it out and he hops Kaftan can give him that time. Right on cue the hatch thuds shut. He smirks.

Everyone else is too concerned to bother him, with the meddlesome Doctor's Scottish boy leading the fruitless charge, "What was that?"

"It sounded like the hatch!" Viner and Jamie go rushing off to investigate.

They return in what seems too short a timespan to Klieg. The Doctor catches the panicking Viner by the shoulder and looks for Jamie, "Well?"

"Oh what's the use, we're trapped down here now. We'll never survive down in this cold! It's closed. What have they done that for? What are they playing at up there?!"

The Doctor shakes him, "Well where's Jamie?"

"He went up the ladder to try it out."

The Doctor releases the man and heads back to find Jamie himself. Jamie is just setting foot on the metallic floor as he comes up, "It's closed."

"Come here. We'll get out of this."

"I canna make anyone hear..." The Doctor cuts Jamie off by placing his finger over his lips. Thoughts flow between them through the connection that are like instant sex without the risk of frostbite. Jamie lets it sooth away his fear and hugs the smaller man in gratitude. They sneak back to the others.

The conversation reveals that Viner is still panicked and worried. He's trying to get Parry to comprehend the dire situation they are in and is not being very successful. Meanwhile Jamie sends to him that Eric is very calm, too calm. The Doctor knows this. He pats Jamie on the arm and captures his hand. "Klieg doesn't seem to be very worried," he says to announce their return.

The dusky skinned man agrees, "No, I'm not Doctor."

"It won't open and I can't make anyone hear," Jamie restates.

Klieg rolls his eyes. This is just too easy. "Of course, there is an easy way out of this. You're forgetting your logic. If it closes it can be opened from... from _here._"

The Doctor smells a rat, but wants to catch him in the lie, "Conveniently labelled in symbolic logic I suppose?"

"Right. are we ready? I shall now operate the sequence."

"If it is the opening device," the Doctor cautions. Parry gives Klieg the go ahead.

Nearly laughing with glee he says, "It's obviously an opening device of some kind Doctor."

Jamie pulls away and heads off down the passage with, "I'll see if it works then." followed by, "Go ahead!" Klieg operates the device. Jamie replies, "Nothing happening out here." He returns to the others to find Eric looking over the controls again.

Soon the professor notices something strange: "Water!"

"Aye, it's getting warmer," Jamie observes. Then he notices something terrifying, "Hey look behind you!"

The tombs are thawing. "The ice is melting," Viner states, "Look! Look at the honeycomb! There's something inside."

The Doctor finds himself stepping back, unable to keep the fear he feels at bay. Jamie moves in front of him and says what they all know to be true, "They're Cybermen."

"Jamie, come back," the Time Lord's voice has a bit of a shake in it. Jamie swallows and steps back until he can catch the Doctor's hand, hidden by the kilt. Not that it matters, Parry and Klieg are both too awestruck to realize the danger.

"It is them. Gentlemen they are perfect! This is unique in archaeology!"

Soon however the jubilation turns to shock, as the cybermen reveal that they are, in fact, still very much alive, weakly moving behind the membranes that divide them from the outside. Viner spots them first, "No, no... they're moving. We must shut it down." He dashes to the controls and somehow manages to reverse the heating effect. This causes the movement to slow and the ice to start to reform. But John is not done. He wants to lock Klieg out of the controls somehow and is trying desperately to encrypt them.

Klieg turns and watches him for a second, then realizes that he's actively working against him, "What are you doing, keep away from that!"

Instead of backing away Viner starts working yet another layer of encryption over the sequence, "No!" He's too busy, too desperate, to look and see that Klieg has pulled a gun on him.

"Hold on, if you just understood --" Kleig begins. Viner shakes his head. Parry moves to stop Kleig and the fellow makes his threat, "The next one to move and he will get killed."

The Doctor catches Jamie by a fistful of his jacket, "No!" The Scot struggles against his hold, meaning to do bodily harm to the armed man if he can get his hands on him.

Eric doesn't want to shoot a fellow member of his guild, really he doesn't, but if he can't get him to stop... "For the last time I'm asking you to get away from those controls!"

Viner continues with his encryption, nearly done with the second layer. Just a few more strokes... the gunshot rings out and he feels the burn of it as he falls, the final lever of his lockout happening to slide into place as he hooks his arm around it. It's the last thing he does in this life.

Shocked, the professor runs over to him, "Viner...Viner...Viner!" It's too late. The life has fled from his eyes. He looks back at Klieg, "YOU'VE KILLED HIM!"

"Move him away from the controls if you must, professor. I've no desire to kill you too, yet." Eric needs time now to undo the cypher placed over the original controls. Parry snags Viner's body by the shoulders and drags him backwards so that he's near the Doctor and Jamie, stopping at the small man's feet. The entire time he keeps his eyes on the gun.

"He's mad!" the Scot says as he tries again to get close enough to disarm Eric.

The Doctor catches him again and forces him, rather gently but firmly, to his knees. Its the first time that Jamie is truly aware that the Doctor is stronger than he is. "Jamie!" Instead of protesting, Jamie suddenly understands that the Doctor is protecting him. He reaches up and curls his fingers in the man's shirt under his coat and cloak. At this he feels the push let up and he slowly stands, half inside the cloak with his arm around the Doctor's back.

Parry stands, "Haydon dead, and now Viner. What kind of a man are you?!"

The encryption is rather weak, and Eric is able to break it easily. "Back... Keep back!" He keeps the gun on the others as the tombs thaw again. This time no one will stop him. "And we can see what happens - as the Professor says, this is a unique archaeological event. It would be such a pity to miss it!"

"You know Doctor, I have a feeling that that man planned it all along. He _knew_ that control wouldn't open the hatch," Jamie says to Thete.

The Doctor pulls him closer, "So did I Jamie."

"What? You knew, Doctor?" But of course the crafty bugger knew... Jamie doubted if any of this surprised the Time Lord at all. He's not angered, precisely because for once the Doctor is being completely open with him.

"I wanted to know what he was up to," the frumpy man said with a frown.

"And now you know Doctor," Eric says as if it's a crow of triumph.

Professor Parry counters, "We know nothing." He points to Viner's body, "This is the action of a lunatic!"

"Lunatic? Not at all Professor, a necessary detail, that's all."

"But why?!" the distraught scholar pleads.

Eric Klieg looks at him with pity. "Logic, my dear Professor, logic and power. On Earth the Brotherhood of Logicians is the greatest human intelligence ever assembled. I, Viner and Kaftan are all part of this, as you well know. He turned his back on our goals. So death came for him. You know however, that intelligence is not enough. Oh no. It's not. We need power. Power to put our ability into action. The Cybermen have this power. I have come here with the Brotherhood's blessing to find it and use it."

Shocked now, Parry says, "So that was your motive in financing my expedition!"

"Exactly! Your complete lack of er, administration made it ideal for our purpose!"

The Doctor shakes his head, "And you think that the Cybermen will help you?"

"But of course - I shall be their resurrector!" It's nearly this exact moment that the sounds of ripping membrane draw their attention back to the tombs. Really it's a misnomer. These are not tombs as much as they are delayed birthing chambers. Stasis. And it is not a resurrection that is taking place, but a trap being sprung. The Doctor can only see one way through this now. He must hope that Toberman retains enough humanity to save them all. It's a pity, really. The fellow has such promise. Jamie can't take his eyes off the horrible sight of all the released Cybermen assembling on the main floor, having made their way from the cubicles and down the ladders. He wants to hide Thete from them as they turn and take in the humans that are against the wall. But they have another horror to witness first.

The Cybermen walk towards them a bit then turn and cluster around the center lowest door. They first salute each other, then prepare for the final emergence, secure in the knowledge that these humans pose little threat. But for one. They need another to deal with him. Jamie watches the strange behavior and then whispers, "What is it?"

The Doctor is focused as intensely as he is, as the Cybermen ease open the final door of the tombs. What unfolds is a very different sort of Cyberman. "I think it's their-their leader...their-their controller, Jamie." The Scot looks from the monstrous event occurring in front of them to the very scared Time Lord next to him. He looks back to see that the being is a full head taller than the normal kind, without the special breathing and machine like chest piece that Polly had so handily exploited. Its got a tall almost cone-like transparent reddish-silver dome, lit with must be superior computing power. It's much like he sometimes imagines the Doctor's brain must look, all alive with intelligence and energy. The Controller steps into the center of the Cybermen drones as the salute it. It is clear that the this one is transmitting and receiving data and orders all without a word being spoken.

Only a fool would dare interrupt. Klieg is apparently that fool. "I... am Klieg, Eric Klieg. I have brought you back to life. We of the Logicians have planned this. You are alive because of us. Now you will help us." Not only is he ignored but it seems as though it might stay that way for some time, "We need your power, you need our mass intelligence. Are you listening? Do you understand me? Now that I have released you..." Sometimes it's stupid to allow ego to control intellect. This certainly is the case here, as Klieg finds when he goes to hit the Controller and ends up in the creature's superhuman grip. He screams as he forced to the floor, "ARGGHH... Let me go!" His pleas, just like his demands, fall on uncaring computerized ears, "I set you free!" It's only after the Controller has made a point of its superior strength that it release the injured man. Unused to pain, he clutches the nearly broken arm and cries, "It was our plan!"

The Controller studies the small group. It is fewer than calculated for. However... there is a prize here, if they can outsmart it. He decides to attempt conquest through use of their human emotions first. "YOU BELONG TO US. YOU SHALL BE LIKE US."

Ever inquisitive, one of the humans puzzles, "How did you know that we would come to release you? You could have remained frozen forever!"

Time is of no consequence in the bigger game of survival. And the Controller knows that they must survive. "THE HUMAN MIND. YOU ARE INQUISITIVE."

The one that is special, the one that could lead the Cybermen to domination over the universe says, "Ah I see a trap! A very special sort of trap too."

The other human, the first one that spoke without demand turns to the one the Controller knows as 'Doctor' and asks, "What do you mean special trap?"

"Well don't you see, they only wanted superior intellects, that's why they made the trap so complicated!" the one known only as 'Doctor' says.

"WE KNEW THAT SOMEBODY LIKE YOU WOULD COME TO OUR PLANET SOMEDAY." Controller tells them.

'Doctor' replies, "Yes, and we've done exactly as you've calculated, haven't we?"

"NOW YOU BELONG TO US," Controller intones. It is meant specifically for 'Doctor'. The game of the mind has began. It will take all the computation power accessible to out-calculate this one. The Controller turns back to his drones as he begins planning how to win this without knowing all the parameters that 'Doctor' might call upon. He's a tricky carbon-based entity.

Jamie silently waits until it's a sure thing that the Cybermen are completely involved with whatever they are doing, "Could we not make a run for it Doctor?"

"No-no, we wouldn't even reach the ladder, it's too risky," the Time Lord says. Parry is out of his league here, far beyond anything he expected to encounter. He asks what they can do, since the situation seems as hopeless as it gets. "We'll play for time, wait our chance. Leave it to me," Jamie clenches his fist as the Doctor approaches the CyberController. After a moment he clears his throat, "Ahem... Excuse me. May I ask a question? Why did you submit yourself to freezing?" the boldness of the Doctor's move causes the Controller to spin and advance. "Er, you-you don't have to answer that if you don't want to..."

The Controller both wants to crush this being and absorb him. The Cybermen could be invincible if they had the Doctor's mind at their lead. "TO SURVIVE. OUR HISTORY COMPUTER HAS FULL DETAILS OF YOU."

Alarmed the Doctor backs up a step. These Cybermen know who he is. "Oh, how?"

"WE KNOW OF YOUR INTELLIGENCE."

"Oh, thank you very much... Ah yes, the lunar surface!" Behind him Parry is looking over at Jamie with confusion. This makes no sense to him.

The Controller spills all the details, however. Revealing more about the Doctor's past and perhaps his future than he realizes. "OUR MACHINERY HAD STOPPED AND OUR SUPPLY OF REPLACEMENTS BECAME DEPLETED. YOU HAD DESTROYED OUR FIRST PLANET AND WE WERE BECOMING EXTINCT. TIME AND TIME AGAIN WE PLANNED TO REPLENISH. TIME AND TIME AGAIN YOU STOOD IN THE WAY."

"So that's why you attacked the Moonbase!"

Jamie frowned, "W-what use will capturing us make? You'll still become extinct."

"WE WILL SURVIVE. WE WILL SURVIVE. NOW YOU WILL HELP US." the Controller stated. "YOU WILL BECOME THE FIRST OF A NEW RACE OF CYBERMEN. YOU WILL RETURN TO THE EARTH AND CONTROL IT." Parry sets up a protest worthy of a crowd but the Controller drones on over the top of it, "EVERYTHING WE DESIGNED HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT. THERE WILL BE NO MISTAKES."

Jamie shook his head, "A new race of Cybermen? But we're humans, we're not like you!"

The Controller looks at the lad, one that has been with 'Doctor' many, many times as they were set back again and again on their plans. The one known as 'Jamie'. It gives the Controller a _thrill_ when it intones, "YOU WILL BE." It sends the Drones over to move the captives into a more defensible location.

The Doctor is caught first, "Oh no-no keep away! Keep away, keep away from me!" Somehow Jamie slips away and makes a dash for it. One of the Drones heads after him. The Doctor is gripped by two drones who drag him forward into the main chamber, "Let me go of me! If you would let go I'd stand still!"

Behind him Toberman is pleading as well, "Please, please, please let me go! Let me go!" The fight between the CyberDrones and the dark skinned man ends when he's tossed into a stack of barrels and goes still.

Jamie is dragged in unconscious. The Doctor is forced forward to a machine that scans him, "Oh if you would let go of me. I would be still! Please! You're breaking my arm! Oh!"

The data that the machine spits out is troublesome. "TO STRUGGLE IS FUTILE." The -_alien_- is moved away. Another carbon based man is moved into his place. Controller must tabulate this new data. What does this mean? 'Doctor' was listed to take the place of Supreme Control. But there is something incorrect with his readings. It is not expected or planned for. Parameters have changed. New data indicates altered logic is required. After the scans are completed, Controller calls the Drones into a conferring circuit again.

A long while passes. Several hours, at least. Most of the day, at the most. He's unsure. He's not really paying attention to the passage of time at the moment. It's a sin, for sure, among his kind. But the Doctor has other things to worry about...

First Toberman, then Jamie revives. The Doctor is somewhat curled, reeling from the scans still, fully able to recall every tiny bit of information that the scans picked up. It's recorded now. Not just that he's got Jamie with him, but _evidence_ that can be turned against him. Unless he destroys it. He's grateful that no one else can read the Cybermen's cryptic language. Oh, what can he do? Jamie senses he's shaken and slides up against him. He curls his arm around the lad's shoulders. Should he tell? Can he afford to? Does he deserve to hide this? What would Jamie think? Would the lad leave him?

_What makes you think I'd leave you?_

The Doctor grips his shoulder a bit tighter, _I've put you into danger yet again. And this time I don't know for sure if we're going to be slipping out of it. _

_Sure we will. I have full faith in you, Thete. _

The Doctor leans his head against Jamie's shoulder but doesn't reply. He doesn't dare block the link, and he doesn't dare think about what happened while Jamie was still unconscious. Instead he closes his eyes and tries to work out a plan suited to the current situation instead of looking more to the impossible future. After a moment Jamie's head settles against his own, the heat of it warming him right through. It's just so _right_. He can't deny it. If Parry or Klieg think the behavior is strange neither say anything about it. Currently the Doctor doesn't care a wit. If Jamie wanted to crawl inside his clothes he'd let him. It's nearly shocking how much caution he's tossed to the wayside since that scan. But it's done now. If they are going to get caught and bad things happen he might as well deserve his punishment, right? And there he goes again – not focusing on what he can solve now. Grrr.

_What scan?_

_The Cybermen scanned all of us. Mine seemed to cause them some delay in whatever plans they had formulated. _The Doctor sees no reason to not tell Jamie at least some of the truth. Luckily, it's enough.

_Ah._

They sit for a while longer, Jamie content to catch the musical whispers of the Doctor's thoughts as the whip past him. He knows Thete's not sleeping even though his eyes are closed. He also knows he wants to hold this little strange man forever, never letting go. He can't, of course. But that doesn't mean he doesn't want to. He glances up and sees Toberman watching and smiles at him. Surprisingly, the large dark skinned man smiles back, seemingly fine with the situation. He wants to assure him that they will make it out of this. But – there's a reason the Doctor wanted Toberman here, and he has a feeling it's because the Doctor sees the fellow's fate. For some reason he keeps picturing the man with three fingered sliver hands. Jamie blinks that away as the Time Lord hugs him tighter.

Then the drones move, making their typical salute, and Jamie realizes that he's seeing Toberman with Cybermen hands. He swallows and feels the Doctor straighten. He settles back as the Cybermen's Controller and one Drone approach them. "WE HAVE DECIDED HOW YOU WILL BE USED."

Klieg gets to his feet, "Yes?"

Controller focuses on him, " YOU ARE A LOGICIAN. OUR RACE IS ALSO LOGICAL. YOU WILL BE THE LEADER OF THE NEW RACE."

Thinking that he's gotten wind of an alliance, Eric asks, "You will listen to my proposals, then?"

"YES, WE WILL LISTEN. BUT FIRST YOU WILL BE ALTERED." This makes Klieg start backwards. The Controller reasons, "YOU HAVE FEAR. WE WILL ELIMINATE FEAR FROM YOUR BRAIN. YES, YOU WILL BE THE FIRST." It catches Eric by his uninjured arm and drags him toward the waiting table.

The Drone points at Parry, "AND YOU WILL BE THE NEXT." Parry tries to get out of the thing's reach but it catches him and drags him forward. "YOU WILL BE LIKE US." the Cyberman's words override Parry's protestations. It fashions a tighter grip and the professor screams.

The Controller gets Klieg turned over to other drones and says to the Doctor, Jamie and Toberman, "TO DIE IS UNNECESSARY. YOU WILL BE FROZEN AND PLACED IN OUR TOMBS UNTIL WE ARE READY TO USE YOU. YOUR LIVES WILL BE SUSPENDED. PREPARE THE TOMBS."

Toberman says, "They're going to freeze us!"

"Not me!" Jamie intends to go down fighting.

The Doctor snags him by the shirt, "No Jamie, they're coming back!" But before he can actually give Jamie a reason to not go down fighting a series of explosions go off around the cavern. This tosses the Cybermen into a state of confusion. They are expecting damage and there is none. It's not logical. Toberman rushes forward to free Klieg. Parry slips away from the cluster that had been cornering him. The smoke from the grenades begins to fill the room.

Captain Hopper shouts, "Come on you guys, run for it!"

Jamie concurs, "Lets get out of here!"

In the smoke filled confusion only the Doctor knows the route. He manages to find Parry and somehow gets Jamie to him, but looses Hopper in the process. Parry calls, "J-Jamie."

"Talk later." Jamie tells him as he presses her 'kerchief to the man's face to help with the smoke.

Moments later the Doctor seems to step out of nowhere, "Is he alright?"

"Aye, I think so. Which way is it from here? I can't remember."

"That way," the Time Lord points.

Jamie looks at him, "Are you sure?"

The Doctor opens up the link further so Jamie can sense him leading back to the hatch, "No I'm not sure, but just try it!" The words are spoken with exasperation and in total contrast to what Jamie senses as the truth."I'll be with you in a minute."

"Alright," the Scot guides the professor back to the now open hatch in a run.

Meanwhile the smaller man is looking for Captain Hopper. "This way!" he calls once he finds the blond man, "We've got to stop them!"

"Block off the tunnel perhaps?" It's a half decent idea, if they had another year or so to carry it out. They don't.

The Doctor shakes his head, "No-no we can't do that. The hatch, we must get there first! Come on!" Hopper is more than happy to follow him back to the hatch.

It's a struggle to get up the ladder as the tunnels were still quite cold even though the main chamber had thawed. It's taken them rather a long time to get back to the hatch, really part of the Doctor's plan to throw the Cybermen off the correct trail. Hopper has not noticed that the little man has gone back again, looking for Toberman against all odds. He shouts at Jamie who's at the top of the climb, "Hurry up can't ya? For Pete's sake get a move on!"

Jamie coughs and then shouts back to him, "Oh my hands are freezing!" The metal rungs of the ladder are even colder and more dangerous than before, nearly skinning his hands as he climbs. Parry loosens his jacket and uses the sleeves to pad his hands from the supercooled metal.

"Come on, come on get up!" Hopper would climb right over these blokes if he had less honor.

Parry chokes a bit, "I can't see through this smoke!"

Victoria's voice comes from above them, "JAMIE! ...What's that smoke?"

Jamie happily calls back, "VICTORIA!" He finally makes it through the hatch and turns to catch Parry and haul him out, "Come on Mr Parry. Come on - quick! You stand back."

Behind him is Hopper, "The Cybermen! They're right behind us!" The Doctor, unable to find Toberman but having found a Cyberman makes a hasty dash down the last stretch of clear hallway and then begins rapidly ascending the ladder. The Drone behind him is surprisingly quick and he barely avoids being caught before he clears it's reach. It doesn't give in, however. Instead it too begins to climb. Above him the captain's voice echoes back, "As soon as the Doctor's up, slam down the hatch!"

Another voice more distant shouts, "Okay! Standby!"

Jamie's never been so happy to see the Doctor's face as he is the moment the strange little fellow appears over the edge of the hatch. But he can tell that there's something wrong, almost right away, "Oh! Argh! He's got my leg! Oh-oh!"

Almost in unison, Hopper and Jamie jump to his aid, each grabbing an arm and helping to wrestle him out of the Cyberman's grasp. "Oh Doctor! come on! come on!"

"Oh! It's no use!" The Doctor figures this is the end.

Jamie mentally shouts, _No! _"Oh, get up! Pull!" This makes the doctor kick which forces the Drone to climb until its behind the Time Lord to avoid his feet. It then tries to catch his shoulders to pull him back down. Only Victoria begins pounding on it with a thermos of all things and it actually overloads slightly from the varied input. It wobbles, giving up the grip it had on the Doctor's cloak. While the silver monster is catching its balance the Doctor slithers away from its reach. Having lost the Time Lord it catches, with both hands, the female hitting it.

"Jim, close the hatch!"

Jamie calls to the lass, "Victoria!" The hatch starts to close. Soon the Cyberman realizes that it is closing, and it releases the female with one hand and attempts bracing the door and pulling her in at the same time. Only the hatch keeps pressing down and the female seems willing to rip her clothing if necessary. Then Victoria spins and slips from the coat she was wearing. The Cyberman is tossed a bit off balance but manages to catch itself. It turns it's attention to keeping the hatch open, trying to use itself as a wedge. The effort causes it to begin smoking. However, the hatch is made better and has less parts to break. The solid thick metal eventually wins the battle, closing with a rather final thud. "Got it!"

Victoria throws herself at the Doctor. "Oh!" is all he can manage with the force of the impact.

Then the Cybermen on the other side begin beating on the hatch. It causes everyone on the other side to jump with alarm. The hatch dents, but does not give. After a few more blows the attempt stops. Victoria hugs the Doctor tighter, "It was horrible! It was so strong!"

Jamie comes around and puts a hand on her back, "Aye, it's all right Victoria, You're all over now."

The professor seems a bit better for having some fresh air and a cup of something hot. Once he's settled he says, "That was a near thing, is anyone missing?"

Only Hopper seems aware of it, "Yes! Klieg, Viner, and Toberman. They're still down there!"

Parry moans, "Oh dear. Well, Viner is dead." This causes Hopper and Callum to both sit down. At this rate they are going to be transporting more dead than alive. Slowly they all settle at the table, Victoria keeping the Doctor close by and Jim keeping a gun on Miss Kaftan. Then there's a soft tapping from the hatch. Hopper leaps to his feet. "Don't open it, it may be the Cybermen!" the professor cautions.

The Doctor shakes his head, " No, no it's too soft. It must be Toberman and Klieg."

Captain Hopper looks at the Doctor, "Ah you're crazy!"

"You're right, we can't leave them down there, even if they are killers," Parry concedes.

Jamie shakes his head, "Oh, they're probably both frozen solid by now."

The knocking is repeated, and Miss Kaftan urges, "You must let them up. They must be saved!"

"Yes, they're more dangerous down there than they are up here!" the Time Lord tells everone.

Hopper is alarmed by this, "What? Well, Okay Jim." Callum indicates he's ready and the captain says, "Okay let her go!"

As the hatch is opened the Doctor moves Kaftan further away from the controls, "Excuse me please."

Eric alone scrambles out from the frozen passages below, "Close it! Close it – quick!" Kaftan asks after Toberman and is told, "They've got him!" The hatch thumps down again.

The Doctor confronts Klieg, "You still think you can form an alliance with the Cybermen?"

"If I'd only been in a stronger position to bargain with them!"

The answer is enough for the others to insist on them being locked away. They choose a room and send them both into it at gunpoint. Once Callum returns Hopper says, "Now, if I don't get back to the rocket, we're not going to take off inside a week." Parry wants to get away from here and tries to work out an arrangement to return to the ship. The captain shakes his head, "I told you before, not till I'm operational again. I'll let you know when that is." Jamie is trying to figure out what is wrong, because he can feel that something is – off. The Doctor is telling him not to worry, that it's nothing major when Hopper interrupts them, "I don't think we'll have any more trouble with your friends down there."

The Doctor makes a face, "We shall see." Hopper leaves. Callum stays. It's likely just as well. The group mills about, with the Doctor spending rather more time inside the controls, physically, then out. He's got ideas about what the CyberController might be planning and is fully engaged in trying to out-think the machine. Sometimes to do that one must work a little chaos into the mix. Soon night falls and the party sets themselves up a rotation for watch. He chooses to take a shift after Victoria and settles down once the others are sleeping. Miss Kaftan's coat has been given to Victoria to replace the one she gave to the Cyberman. The party is rather spread out in the most uncomfortable positions the Doctor has ever seen humans sleep in. In fact he'd guess that Jamie's form is where it is more because the lad couldn't stay awake any longer more than anything else. He rubs his face, aware that he's over-napped, yawns and tosses his hands in the air as Victoria levels the gun at him, "Oi, I'm on your side - remember? Hey, why didn't you wake me? I should have been on watch half an hour ago!"

She lowers the weapon, "I thought you should rest."

He gets up and crosses over to her, "Why me?"

She shrugs, "No reason really."

"Oh I think I know, is it because I'm..."

"Well, _if_ you are 450 years old you'll need a great deal of sleep!" Victoria states.

He smiles at her, "Well that's very considerate of you Victoria, but um, between you and me, I'm-I'm really quite lively actually ah, all things being considered." Then he changes the direction of the conversation after a pause, "You happy with us Victoria?"

"Yes I am. ...At least, I would be if my father were here."

He offers his hand, "Yes, I know, I know."

She takes it and gives him a sad smile, "I wonder what he would have thought if he could see me now."

"You miss him very much don't you?"

There's no denying that her life has been changed forever, and that there's no going back with it. She's not the innocent she was -- "It's only when I close my eyes. I can still see him standing there - before those horrible Dalek creatures came to the house. He was a very kind man, I shall never forget him. Never."

The Doctor wouldn't want her to forget, but he does want the pain to lessen. "No of course you won't. But, you know, the memory of him won't always be a sad one."

"I think it will. You can't understand, being so ancient -- " His expression makes her rephrase, " I mean, so old. You probably can't remember your family."

"Oh, Oh yes I can when I want to. And that's just the point really. I have to really want to, to bring them back in front of my eyes. The rest of the time they-they sleep in my mind, and I forget. And so will you." She gives him an uncertain look. He reads it loud and clear, "Oh yes you will. You'll find that there's so much else to think about. So remember; our lives are different to anybody else's, that's the exciting thing. There's nobody in the universe can do what we're doing. Hmm. You must get some sleep and let this 'poor old man' stay awake." She smiles at him. The Doctor hugs her and then watches her settle down to sleep, adding his cloak over her like a blanket. He walks through the room, checking on the others before taking her post at the table, gun in hand, although he doesn't intend on using it. A nudge on his shoe makes him look downs and he spots the Cybermen's next attempt against them. "Jamie, Victoria, Callum, wake up, wake up!" He's already on his feet, having tipped the one Cyber-Mat onto it's side and searching for others.

The responses range from snores to Victoria's nearly instant wakefulness, "What is it?" He shakes Jamie by the shoulder and then spots the Cyber-Mat moving toward Callum.

By the time the Doctor has gotten in range it's clear that the creatures are using some form of electronic nerve interface to control human reactions. "Callum, Callum!" He gets no response from the fellow under attack.

Victoria takes over shaking Jamie awake, "It's one of those terrible things again!"

"Don't move Callum, don't move!" The Doctor needn't have worried on that point, really as the fellow is rather stunned. But he keeps talking as the slowly reaches for the Cyber-Mat. He then makes a fast swipe sending the offending metallic worm-like robot flying away with one hand and tugging Jim to his feet with the other. "Now get back to the controls all of you! Steady, don't make any sudden movements," he orders as he moves to the professor. Callum, Victoria, and Jamie all do as told. "Parry, Parry, wake up Parry, wake up."

"Wha?" the professor asks half asleep still.

The Doctor tugs him off the steps, "Wake up, don't panic. Come back with us, steady. Now we'll all go in the other room and lock them out!" Parry has to fight a sense of panic at the approach of the clearly Cybernetic creatures.

Reaching the control bank the Doctor begins to direct everyone to the power room. They are cut off by the Cyber-Mat that was attempting to interface with the Doctor. Victoria can't help herself and screams. Jim panics at this, "Let's... get out of here! T-the main doors! No look!"

There's another one of them silver worms moving toward them from that side. "Oh, Doctor. We're trapped!" Victoria points out.

"Back against the controls, everybody!" the Doctor orders. They do as told. More of the Cyber-Mats appear. Then the Time Lord remembers the cable he'd detached earlier. He swiftly tugs one end lose and makes a half-circle with it. "Here, give me a hand, quick!"

"Wha-what?" Parry stammers.

"Lay this down on the ground. Come on!" He's got no time to explain.

Jamie frowns, "They'll go over it Doctor!"

Even without help, he keeps on working at a frantic pace. He gets to the far side of the control bank and plugs the cable back in, making a circuit with it. "Come on!" he dares the Cyber-Mats to come at him.

"Let's blast the filthy things!" Jim cries. Three shots to a Cyber-Mat however is a waste of ammo.

"You're wasting your time, there are too many of them! Now do what I say, come back!" Callum steps back inside the length of cable. The Doctor pulls a lever, turning on the circuit. The cable smokes from the load. "There you are, you see!" The Cyber-Mats are totally thrown for a loop from the raw electrical current running through the cable. Given enough time the conflict causes them to short out and effectively kneel over. Only after they are all smoking ruins does the Doctor shut off the power.

"What are those creatures?" the professor asks.

The Doctor looks at him, "Well, they're a form of -of metallic life. They home on human brainwaves and attack."

"Urgh! Are they safe now?" Victoria wants to know.

Now that they are all rather internally toasted... "Oh yes, quite safe now. The er, power cable generated an electrical field and confused their tiny metal minds. You might almost say that they've had a complete metal breakdown." This comes with a rather goofy grin. Jamie pulls a face and groans. "I'm so sorry Jamie." But he can't help the smile that resurfaces.

"What about Klieg and Kaftan? They probably attacked them as well!" Victoria suddenly sends up the alarm. The professor picks it up and the Doctor decides that they should check. But before they can reach the door the two that had been locked away reveal that they are safe, and armed...

Klieg glances at the solution to the Cyber-Mat problem, "Most ingenious Doctor. Now, let's see what you can do against this!" He aims the cyberman weapon and fires, although the Doctor is pushed clear of the blast and Callum takes the shot in his shoulder. Victoria screams as the man falls. The professor moves to the downed man. "Keep back!" Eric orders. Then he aims at Parry, "Your gun." It is reluctantly given to Kaftan.

"You've killed him you murderer!" Parry accuses.

Callum has passed out, and is not dead. Eric knows this, "No, he is fortunate, I spared him!"

Jamie is holding Victora, but that doesn't stop him from drawing attention his way, "Hah, you mean you missed him!" The Doctor puts a warning hand on his arm.

"Silence! I could have destroyed him if I wanted to!" then Klieg turns to Miss Kaftan, "Shall I kill them now?"

She shakes her head, "No, no, that will not be necessary." She walks into the group, "I'm sure the Cybermen will have a good use for them. You will make excellent experimental specimens!"

Jim moans as he regains consciousness. Victoria frets, "Oh let me help him please!"

"No tricks!" Klieg warns.

Jamie lets go of her and she kneels down to check on Callum. The Doctor frowns, "You still think that you can bargain with the Cybermen?"

"Certainly!" the madman says as he crosses to the controls and activates the hatch. It opens as he crosses the room again speaking, "And this time on our terms!" when he reaches the open portal he leans over and shouts down it, "I wish to speak to the Controller! I wish to speak to the Controller!" This he does over and over again until the sound of approaching footsteps echoes back at him, "They're coming! And now gentlemen you will see how I shall use the power of the Cybermen!"

The Doctor scoffs, "Use maybe, but you'll never control the Cybermen."

After a moment the Controller rises up over the edge of the hatch with Toberman behind him. Miss Kaftan has to jolt her 'partner' out of his delusions of glory, "Eric, behind you!"

He turns and levels the gun, "Stop! You know what this can do to you!" Sure enough the Controller does stop. It does know what that weapon is capable of. "That's better. Now you are under my control. We know you that you must be revitalised or you will perish. If you agree to my terms I will let you survive."

"I WILL LISTEN."

Miss Kaftan makes a suggestion, "Make them release Toberman."

"If you think they'll listen to you you're even dafter than I thought," Jamie tells her. She snarls and levels her gun at him. He defiantly stares her down. The Doctor tries to tug the Scot back,

"Silence! Sit down." Klieg orders Jamie, Parry, and the Doctor. The all sit. Then he turns back to the Controller, "First, you release our man."

The Controller turns to face the dark skinned man and releases him, sort of, with a telepathic command. Slowly Toberman climbs free of the hatch and rather zombie-like moves down the steps until he's positioned to the side of them. Kaftan greets him, "Toberman, it is good that you are back, watch them." He doesn't move, or blink, or acknowledge her in any way.

Jamie's seen this before. He leans over to the Doctor, "Doctor he seems, uh..."

"Yes Jamie, yes," the Time Lord agrees but shushes the piper because clearly Kaftan and Klieg don't see the signs.

The exchange between the Doctor and Jamie has taken Klieg's attention off the Controller. It's moved from the hatch to the steps and is advancing on him. Just in time Klieg levels the gun on it again, "Stay where you are!" It stops. Klieg boldly moves toward the Controller, getting almost within reach, "No, do you agree to accept our plan?"

"Plan?" echoes the Time Lord.

"The conquest of the Earth," Klieg gloats.

The professor gets to his feet, "What? You must be out of your mind! "

Eric orders, "Silence!" then he turns back to the Controller, "Your answer?"

It's what the Cybermen have been attempting for centuries. Of course it's going to accept. The Doctor can hear it coming even before it is stated. However, he knows that Klieg has no idea what he's bargaining for. "WE ACCEPT. WE WILL GIVE YOU SOME OF OUR POWER DEVICES."

"Good! I knew an understanding could be reached. I shall let you be revitalized. To survive it must be now. Come forward – slowly," Klieg commands. Although Kaftan warns him to take care, he's too high on his own ego to realize that the Controller will say anything to get into the energy chamber at this point. "Leave this to me!" The professor tells him he's out of his mind crazy. This makes Klieg rethink just a bit, " Do you think so? Then perhaps you and your colleagues had better join him! Oh go on, go on!" The gun is waved in their faces but as Victoria moves to stay with them he snatches her by the arm, "The girl stays with us!"

Miss Kaftan shuts the door as the Doctor shouts, "No!" After a moment the Time Lord frowns and turns to follow the Controller into the room at the end of the hall. They really have no choice. By the time they reach the room it's painfully clear that things are rather dire for the Controller. It's trying, and failing, to get into the just-slightly-too-small alcove.

Parry, who is on top, the Doctor (being in the middle), and Jamie (on the bottom) watch from around the door at the rather comical and fading progression. Jamie finally says, "He's too weak to get in!"

This is quite true, the Doctor agrees. The Controller does seem really rather weak at the moment. He fondly pats the piper on the head, "Quiet Jamie." Suddenly a plan occurs him. It might not be the best of plans, or the safest of plans, but it is a plan... and it might buy them some time. The Scot catches his coat as he steps out from their hiding place. The Doctor reassures him that he knows what he's doing, and once free of the lad's grip tiptoes over to the Controller. The tall silver creature doesn't even respond to his approach. It looks like for a second that the Doctor might tap the Controller on the shoulder. Jamie sends him a warning feeling about that action and the little man changes his mind, "Ahem, you seem to be in trouble."

"THE ENErGy LEVels ARe Low... WE WiLl SURVive. YOU WIlL HeLp us. YOU WILL Help uss..."

The Doctor figures this fits right in with his plan... "Er Yes, certainly! Ahem, Jamie, Professor..."

Jamie frowns, "You don't mean to say you're actually going to help them?"

"Surely not! You can't support these creatures!" the professor adds.

The Time Lord figures he deserves this lack of trust, and he won't ask Jamie to trust him blindly again having abused it now. No, he needs to prove himself again. But he can't – tell them what the plan is because of he does then the Controller will know. So instead he gives Jamie a look that reads 'I've got a plan' and says, "I think it best. Come on." Jamie reads the look and motions Parry over. Although the professor has no idea what is going on he helps the other two men get the oversized Controller into the coffin like alcove. "Come along That's it, up there and in!"

The Controller says, "YOU UNDerstanD thE MachIne."

And of course the Doctor does. "Yes, one moment." He moves over to the controls.

Jamie tries to stop him, "Have you taken leave of your senses? Now let's go and help Victoria!"

"In a moment," the odd little fellow says. He then calls to the Controller, "Now, are you ready?" He gets a signal from the Cyberman. He gleefully flips some levers, starting up the machine and closing the Controller inside the nearly immovable door. He then moves to keep the machine from actually recharging the menace, "Well now, where would you rather have him, in or out of there?" Jamie blinks as he gets what the Doctor has done. Then the Time Lord says, "Only we must make sure that he stays in there."

The three men mobilize to ensure that the coffin like door cannot be opened. Every wire or cable they can wrench free is put to use in binging the thing closed. Unfortunately someone trips a unknown control on the panel that causes the emitter to rapidly jerk about and start to smoke as it overloads. "Keep back, it's smoking! Turn it off, it's out of control!"

Jamie says, "I told you you shouldn't have touched it!"

Parry rushes to the panel with the goal of powering it down, but before he can it falls still on its own. "I think there must be some sort of internal timing mechanism. Jamie, I hope you made those ropes secure," the Doctor says.

"Och, the King of the beasties himself couldnae get out of that one!" the Scotsman counters. He's not worried.

The Doctor is rather sure they should be. But he trusts the lad, "Good!" They fall silent for a moment. Then the thudding starts. It doesn't worry him... until the Controller puts his fist through the door. This worries him. He motions for them to get under cover. "Oh!" Parry swears. The rest of the Controller comes through the lid. The binds don't even give it pause. "Jamie, remind me to give you a lesson in tying knots sometime." The piper raises an eyebrow at him. _Not that type of lesson_.

The Controller surveys the room, spots their hiding place and comes around to block them, "YOU WILL REMAIN STILL." then it sends a strong telepathic signal through the wall to it's drone. This signal ends up raising the door. The Controller orders the non-cyberman in the room with it to exit to the main chamber.

Jamie calls Victoria over even though the Doctor shushes him. She eagerly joins them, "What's going on?" the Time Lord shushes them again. Now things might get tricky...

The Controller reveals that Toberman is under his influence, and it tells her, "CYBERMEN DO NOT PROMISE. SUCH IDEAS HAVE NO VALUE." then he orders her to open the hatch. This causes Kaftan to turn on the metal monster and fire her gun. The shots bounce off. It tells her, "THAT GUN WILL NOT HARM ME." before it returns fire and kills her with a more effective weapon.

As the Controller opens the hatch the Doctor calls to Toberman, "Look what they've done! You're not like them, you're a man like us! You must help us! He has killed Kaftan! You must help us!"

His attempt is ignored in favor of calling re-enforcements, "YOU WILL REPORT TO THE SURFACE."

Only Toberman is listening. Something inside him is still human enough to feel something. And the Doctor's words tap into this. He turns on the Controller and they end up fighting. The Cyberman's gun is dropped in the scuffle and Jamie quickly snags it. They watch as Toberman gets the upper hand and manages to short out enough of the Controller to render it inactive. But the Doctor is also watching the open hatch and just as the first of the Drones appear he shouts, "Jamie, the hatch!"

The Scot might not be technologically advanced, but he can fire a gun, even if it is one far beyond his era. He pegs off the top drone and then runs over and pushes it back into the stairwell. While he's looking another comes into view and he shoots it before it can even reach the ladder, "There's another one Doctor!" He fires once more and there's a third clanging sound.

"Are there any more?"

Jamie shakes his head, "No, It's gone quiet. I'll close the hatch."

"No, wait a minute. I'd better go down there," the Doctor says catching him.

Victoria rushes over, "Oh no-no! Not again."

The Time Lord looks at her, "It's the only way to make sure." Besides he must destroy those scans. This couldn't be any more perfect an opportunity.

"Then I'll go with you," Jamie insists.

The Doctor takes his hand. "No wait. You stay and look after Victoria. I'll take somebody else," Although Jamie doesn't like it he finds himself looking at Toberman. He glances at the Doctor and nods. The Time Lord moves over to the half-Cyberman, "Toberman, you see what these creatures have done to you? They've tried to make you like them! Do you understand? They've tried to make you their slave, they just want to use you! They are evil, think of Kaftan!"

Once again, he manages to hook into something that is still human inside the dark skinned man, "Yeah!" he rumbles.

"They must be destroyed, d'you see? Evil must be destroyed! Now... come!" The Doctor leads him back to the hatch.

Toberman nods and growls, "Destroooy!"

The Doctor gets him to follow him down the hatch, "Come! Come on! Come on!" Parry calls out that he wishes them luck, and the little dark haired man says, "Thank you."

Jamie frowns and holds out the weapon, "Doctor, the gun!"

"I shan't need that."

After the two have disappeared Jamie looks at Victoria and says, "He should have it! Hey – where is it?" The gun is gone. Jamie frowns and then decides to head down the hatch himself after he notices Klieg is missing.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He's back again where that forbidden data was revealed to him. He knows it must be destroyed. He wants to make sure that there is no chance the Cybernmen will ever rise from here to share that secret with anyone. He says to Toberman, "Ah, move quietly, they're all dormant, see."

But Toberman has one thing on his now very limited mind – annihilation of all Cybermen. He screams, "EEEVIL!" in his naturally deep voice and sets to smashing one of the pieces of equipment. It's the scanner.

"No quietly! They're only asleep, they're not frozen yet!" This calms the dark skinned half-Cyberman down for a while. "Now, you watch them. I have things to do. Ah yes, let me see..." The Doctor sets to work on eliminating the data in the data banks, replacing information with blocks of blank data. Then he sets to re-freezing the Cybermen. "Yes!"

Then a voice rings out, "Stand clear of that! You're freezing them!"

Glancing up, the Time Lord looks at Klieg. The dusky skinned man has the Cyberman weapon leveled on him. "Klieg!" At that Eric moves to the controls and waves the Doctor back. He reverses the last sequence he observed the little man do. "No! no, you'll wake them up!"

"That's exactly my intention! You still don't understand do you? Their Controller is dead, now I shall control them. They'll do what I say!" the madman smiles with an air of triumph. "You see Doctor, yours is the privilege to witness for the first time the union between mass power and my absolute intelligence!" At this Jamie gives himself away, and Klieg calls, "Who's that? Come out! Come out, or I shall kill this man!" The gun is placed right between the Doctor's hearts. Seeing that, Jamie slowly steps out with his hands raised. Klieg could have guessed. "Oh. It's you. Over to that wall - all of you." The Doctor steps back to the piper and they press against the wall. "All of you!" Klieg repeats. This gets Toberman to back to the wall as well. With them safely out of the way, Eric turns his attention to trying to figure out what else the Doctor might have done, "Now..."

The Time Lord can't let him recover that data. The only thing he can do is distract him, "Yes, as you say, such a combination between intelligence and power would make you formidable indeed! Why you'd be commander of the universe with your brilliance! It-it makes the imagination reel with the possibilities!" Jamie curls his hands in the Doctor's coat but keeps his mouth shut, even as he wonders once again what it is that the Doctor is up to.

Klieg lowers the gun in surprise, "Why Doctor, if I had only known you shared my imagination. You might even have worked for me!"

"Perhaps it's not too late?!" the little man inquires.

Jamie is shocked, "Doctor!"

"No Jamie, don't you see?" The Doctor turns his full attention to the piper even as the Cybermen begin to rouse and move in preparation to re-emerge again from their cubicles, "Don't you see what this is going to all mean to those who come to serve 'Klieg the all powerful'? Why, no country, no person would dare to have a single thought that was not your own! Eric Klieg's own conception of the... of the way of life!" Jamie suddenly gets the underlying disgust in the Doctor's words and nods in agreement.

"Brilliant! Yes... yes you're right. Master of the world!" The expression on Klieg's face is one that is like that of a child in a candy store who has been told they can have everything and anything there that they want.

The Doctor narrows his eyes and glowers at the man's back, "And now I know you're mad, I just wanted to make sure."

This angers the fellow. He goes off into a rant that the Doctor and Jamie both tune out until it seems to be near the end, "-- And so you have forfeited your right to survival. I shall make an example of you to all who question my intelligence, and the supreme power of the Cybermen!"

The Doctor rolls his eyes, "You know I've heard all this before somewhere."

Jamie adds, "You know your trouble? You talk too much."

"Oh you're stupid! You still think your puny minds can survive against us?! You're decadent, weak! Do you know that? Weak!" Klieg rants.

"Alright. Go ahead, kill us," the Time Lord offers.

This cause the madman to raise the weapon, realize he's being manipulated, and then lower it, " No, I have a better idea, much better idea. I shall leave you to the Cybermen. I'm sure they'll have some use for you," laugher echoes through the cavern, "Or part of you!" Only he's not been paying attention to the Cybermen who have been advancing on him. The closest one grabs him and gets him into a headlock. He screams. It crushes his head and neck and then turns it's attention to the controls in an attempt to reestablish the data stream before it is lost forever. Toberman rushes forward, knocking the thing away from the controls. The Doctor sees his chance.

"Quick Jamie. These two levers together."

The Scot is right with him, mirroring his movements until he gets to near the final lever, "I-I can't shift this one."

"What? You've got to trip that first," the Time Lord indicates the locking mechanism which Jamie disengages. The battle between Toberman and the Cyberman rages on behind them as they finish. It ends with the Cyberman ripped nearly in half, rather messily. The Doctor pauses to settle his suddenly rebellious stomach, "Last time they were frozen for five centuries. This time it must be forever!" He turns his attention to scrambling the controls so that no logic will ever get them to operate again. Jamie stands guard over him, just in case. The Cybermen that were out retreat to the call of sleep. As the temperature begins to drop again both men turn to watch the thick ice reform over the honeycomb-like tombs, that are once more filled with immobile silver figures.

It's too cold to linger, but Jamie spends a moment at the ladder before they ascend into the main room above just hugging the Doctor and trying to settle himself before they face the others. And although he's shivering he nearly forces the little man to climb up before him. Victoria's greeting is the best music he could have ever hoped for, "Oh Doctor!"

The little fellow both tries to reassure her and help Jamie who is quite frozen out of the hatch. "Here we are Victoria, safe and sound." He motions to Parry, "Close the hatch."

Jamie follow the Doctor down the steps, greeting Hopper as he comes back into the Cyberman's entrance to what he hopes will be their final eternal resting place, "Hello!" His feet are still quite sluggish from the cold however and he trips on the steps tumbling forward into Victoria, " ...Oop!"

Luckily for him she's stronger than she looks, "Ooh!" and the Doctor is still close enough to turn and keep them both from a nasty fall.

He's treated to a strong jolt of energy from the contact that makes his head spin, and a teasing grin, "Hah, there we are."

The hatch that has been the source of much of their trouble makes a final close. Jaime looks at the offending step, "Oh!" He pulls away from the Time Lord before he does something rash.

The Doctor's mind is already on wrapping this up. "Now then," he says as he crosses over to the controls. The panel opens to his touch and he begins reworking the hardwired system. "Now, the best thing about a machine that makes sense; you can very easily make it turn out nonsense. Yup." The others watch him for a while, and he finally finishes the 'repair' and straightens, "Now I think you'd better all go outside."

The professor can't contain his curiosity any longer, "Why, what are you going to do Doctor?"

He has no reason to not tell the fellow, "I'm going to re-electrify the main doors. Only this time I'm going to include the hatch and the control panel." Parry can see the wisdom in this and agrees with the course of action. The Doctor finishes with, "Anyone touching any of them will get a considerable shock - in fact a fatal one."

"I see," Parry says.

The Doctor smiles and shoos them out, "Now everyone outside." Jamie plants his feet, he's not going anywhere. The Time Lord raises an eyebrow at his unspoken challenge and tells Hopper and Parry, "And please take him with you, I shall be glad to see him outside."

Callum, Victoria, the captain, and the professor all move to the exit. Jamie still refuses to budge. Victoria calls to him, " Jamie!"

"No, I'll stay with the Doctor," the Scot tells her.

She can see clearly that he's not going to do anything more or less than he wants to do. She is getting away from this deadly place. "Oh all right."

The little alien glances over at his human and shakes his head. He needs to get this done then before time runs out. He trusts Jamie to keep his eyes open for any changes. The work proceeds at a steady place and finally he announces, "There we are, that's done." He moves to the hatch so that he can wire it up. Jamie stays right with him, feeling a bit more protective than he normally does. That completed The Doctor says, "Now we just have to close the main doors and the circuit is complete." He then heads to the door controls to make sure that they will recharge instantly.

"Oh, thank goodness for that," Jamie agrees. Then something tickles at his awareness and he turns to see the Controller getting back to its feet, "Doctor!" The Time Lord doesn't respond fast enough, "Doctor!" He shakes the fellow's shoulder.

This causes the frumpy man to turn and spot the Cyberman. It's on the other side of the table, but they must get past it to get out. The one fortunate thing is that the shorting the Controller took before has all but eliminated the charge it gained from being rejuvenated. It's moving quite slowly. The Doctor figures that given a choice and a chance to catch one of them it will go for him not the piper. It's a bet he must take. "Jamie. You go that way and I'll go this way, that way at least one of us will have a chance. When I say run, run." Jamie nods. They slowly advance on the table. Then the Doctor makes a feint, coming briefly into the Controller's reach to make it veer his direction, darts back and shouts, "RUN!" Jamie dashes past, ducking to avoid the Controller as it attempts to switch targets and snag him. The Doctor takes advantage of this to time his own dash past it. The two men make it to the main doors just steps past each other and both begin shoving the doors closed, "Quickly!" Then the Doctor remembers his trap, "Wait, stop!" to punctuate the risk he jerks his hands off the door.

Jamie shouts, "What?"

"We'll get a shock!"

The piper snatches his hand away too, "Gah!"

"We must find something to insulate." he cast about frantically then spots something, "I know, that shoring timber over there! Hurry up! Hurry up he's coming!"

Jamie dashes to pick up the wood, "Okay Doctor!"

Moments later they are both holding the timber across the doors and desperately trying to ease the large metal portal closed, "Oh dear! We must keep him inside or else all our work will be wasted!"

The circuit is not complete, and the Controller has no fear. He reaches the doors and begins pushing against them, gradually gaining on their effort, forcing the doors back open. The Doctor even puts his back into it, struggling with all his superior strength, desperate to keep the Controller inside. Jamie slides in the sand, "I can't hold mine, come on!"

"You must do!" the Doctor orders him.

Suddenly a shadow falls across them, "Oh! Toberman!" Jamie says as the dark skinned half-Cyberman moves them both out of the way and puts his metallic hands on the doors.

"WE MUST SURVIVE. WE MUST SURVIVE," the Controller chants as it struggles against the superior rage fueled strength of the Done turned traitor.

Toberman puts more effort into closing the passage, "You are evil!" The doors inch closer together, closer to contact. The power in them practically arcs through the gap as it narrows.

"Toberman come away!"

Jamie echoes the concern, "Careful! You'll get killed man!"

But Toberman knows he's dead already, has been since the transformation began. He keeps at the doors, willing to die to keep the universe safe from this horror, "They shall never pass Toberman! The door is closed!" The power from the circuit jolts through him as the contact is firmly completed. As his life fades he know that the Controller too will die. It is enough, he thinks, to have done some good out of the evil almost unleashed here.

Parry and Hopper reappear as the dark skinned man finally falls to the ground, "How terrible, another life gone!"

Captain Hopper wants to leave, now. They've got enough of the work done to get them home, considering the extent of the loss of life, "C'mon Professor, blast off in nine minutes." He won't be taking Toberman back with him. He technology riddling his body is best left on Talos to rust away. He looks at the Doctor's group, "Well, anybody coming along for the ride?"

Victoria counters, "Ah - We have our own flying machine, thank you."

The blond bloke raises an eyebrow at her, "Flying machine?"

She raises her nose slightly, "At least it works."

Hopper shakes this and the confusion off, "Ah, let's go!"

Parry looks over at the fellow, "Right..." then he looks back to the odd trio that somehow managed to skim through this with little damage. He'd been right to trust the little gent. It had saved his life. "well... Goodbye Doctor, I'm sorry it had to end..."

The Doctor shakes his hand, "I know." they nod at each other. The Doctor would phase this planet out of time if he could. But he can't so he just bids the humans on their way, "Goodbye."

After the expedition is out of sight Jamie looks at the Time Lord, "Now that really is the end of the Cybermen isn't it Doctor?"

He surely hopes so. He needs the entire event to stay dead and buried for all time, "Yes Jamie." But then... how did Toberman get out? The question makes him frown, "On the other hand, I never like to make predictions. Come along." He leads them back to the TARDIS and they depart from Telos.


	9. Side Trips

A/N: _This is a detailed side story for my Doctor Who AU 'Verse. It's 'All About' Jamie and the Doctor. How they met, what adventures they had, and finally why they were parted. It's a prequel to __**Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse **__even though I'm writing it now, and mean it to be read in conjunction with __**Doctor Who and the Tangled Web**__. This is meant for those folks with no exposure to the second Doctor. This chapter covers the serial "The Two Doctors". Placement based on Outpost Gallifrey's timeline. I was, at first, considering this a 'season 6b' serial, but the reasons for placing it here are just too compelling... Ignore that the actors are aged in the real broadcast, and just let yourself believe that they do fit here. Because of the Time War some events are altered slightly. Again, Blame Romana... Scenes that don't have either the Doctor or Jamie directly involved will not be included. Transcripts of the episodes are used as reference for dialogue, along with photonovels where the BBC has lost / destroyed them. Inspiration and Titles come from the T.a.t.u song "All About Us" that was used for the video featuring this ship. _

_Please note that this sets up a crossover with my current 9th Doctor Story, Tangled Web, on a more crash-head-first-into level. The next part of this might end up as the second half of that story, or as a standalone piece.  
_

_Oh... A Favorite Story listing! Thank you, SailorEarth5. And to my reviewer, OtherMeWriter – yeah, I really got roped into modding for a bit, my comp rebelled and broke, and I can't afford a new one, so no games for me. Writing really is much better for my brain. _

Part 7b: Side Trips (or what the naughty boys get up to while Victoria studies Graphology)

(_It's All About -- All About Us_)

It's difficult to say how much time passes when one can travel in time and space. Time flows differently inside a TARDIS after all. Years can pass between exits if the very much alive ship suspends itself upon arrival but delays telling anyone. Not only that, but sometimes the Doctor forgets things, or makes side trips while his companions sleep – or in this case companion. Meaning Victoria. Jamie always leaves with him when this happens, the pair slipping out at night, being gone... Time passes slower inside me and Miss Waterfield never guesses at the days that past while she sleeps.

The Doctor had taken to teaching Jamie a bit about the controls, but never telling him that the randomizer kept the course erratic on purpose. In many ways I almost felt like my pilot was hiding something. All I knew was that his draw on the power over time was quite high. I assumed it was to keep Jamie from ageing during their extensive wandering. Because of my fondness for the Scottish piper I did not limit this use (or abuse, some might call it) of his power.

I suppose I'm guilty of enabling this behaviour, by not ever letting on, neither to Victoria about the extra stops nor to the Doctor about the power draw. But these nightly stops make the Doctor so very happy, and I'm sure that Jamie is part of it, mysterious as it is. I won't interfere.

It's not as though the young lady is enjoying this adventure-filled lifestyle when she is included. The stops she experiences, like the layover in the Twenty-second century at NovaLon Hypercities, the visit to Madagascar, and the rush through 1968 Lychburg, usually leave her more shaken than she lets on, reminding her how drastically her life has changed. Neither the far future nor the past sits well with her, and the monsters, the running for your life, the alien food, -- all of it, really -- still frightened her very much.

I try to calm her, to distract her, providing her with things that she enjoys. Eventually her mind latches onto one of the more obscure sciences I know. When she broaches the idea of putting in some serious study, the Doctor requires convincing. But for the young Miss Waterfield's mental health, I push for it, and he, amazingly enough, listens. At the next stop he sets her up as a student with a grant for expenses, an ID, and calls upon an old friend to keep an eye on her. The elderly human professor is perfectly willing, once his palms are greased with funds, to help Victoria with her adjustments to this time and place as well as her studies in Graphology.

Before he can leave the institute where he's set up Victoria with her studies another woman calls his name, and he turns to look at her. "Doctor! Oh, I was sure that I'd miss you, again. You are a hard fellow to catch." The young lady's double heatsbeat gives away that she's one of his kind. The clothes mark her as much of a renegade as he is. Her long blond hair falls to her shoulders in a regal mass, framing her heart shaped face.

"I beg your pardon? Exactly who are you?" he fixed her with as much of a glower as his face in this body can manage. Which is rather a lot, really.

The young Time Lady flashes him a bright smile, "Oh, I can't tell you. There's a reason you can't read my biodata, after all." She bit her lip, then happily said, "But you can call me Fred, if you like."

He grumbles at this most common of human names that clearly does not suit this woman. Her smiles, while bright and cheerful, have an underlying sense of fatalism. She's seen things that she can't tell him in any way, and yet, he must trust her. "_Fred_. Somehow I don't think that's the name you chose for yourself."

"It's immaterial, really. I haven't got much time, and I need you do a favour for me."

"Rather the forceful one, aren't we?" The Doctor looked her over, trying to place what little he could detect from her. "You're not CIA are you? Not from the Counsel?" She shook her head, and then laughed, shaking even harder. "What then? Trying to get me to go home? Jamie, lad... Go back inside the TARDIS, please."

"I'd not leave you, Doc-" the piper begins.

"Jamie. Now," the tone sends the man into the blue box and the woman's brown eyes follow his form, softening at the sight of the time ship's shape. "You seem to know her..."

The Time Lady reached past the Doctor and stroked a light finger against the roughened painted wood, "I have the privilege of having met her, and you, in your future, Doctor. Not in this face, of course. Please, if you do this for me, I'll owe you a favour later, one you can collect any where, and any when. And I'd gladly risk – _anything_ – to carry it out." Her gaze holds his steady for a moment, then drifts down to his stomach. The Doctor pales and closes his coat. "You'll need me, and this favour, later."

"No I won't."

She smiles again, "Oh, yes. You will, Doctor. Your very life will depend on it. And besides, in my timeline, I've already done, so you already own me this." His face becomes alarmed. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone what you've been doing with your human lover, Doctor. I'm not the one that -"

'_Stop!_' he orders her mentally. '_-just stop. Bad enough that you know, without the threats on top of it. What do you want me to do?_'

I don't overhear the rest of the communication, as the Time Lady is mentally quite powerful. More than able to block me, both from her own thoughts and the Doctor's thoughts as well. There's an inkling about her of futures beyond, struggles that the small blond is working through, things she knows that I should not. My pilot opens the door for her after their deep sharing, looking tired, and perhaps a little sick. The little Time Lady glances at Jamie with such sadness before she moves to the console. Even though the Doctor does not see it and in fact does not trust her, he's powerless to ignore what she is asking him to do. He unlocks the controls for her and she hands him a remote recall for me. He places the disk into his breast pocket as though it was quite a precious thing. And really it is, it will allow him to call me to him across time and space. Very rare, that disk. "Well there you are, _Fred_. Do you need a spanner?"

She somehow manages to laugh again, "I've got a sonic, thank you." and the young but wise beyond her years Time Lady carefully installs the component inside my controls for the remote to work. Somehow, she knows how to adjust it to make it not hurt, as though she's traveled with me before. But I know I've not met her, and I should not be meeting her now. The sorrow she radiates makes me not protest this tampering with Time. But I want to know, why is she changing things? Like me, she loves him enough to shatter universes for him, to desperately risk all of reality. She inputs the data for my flight, bypassing the randomizer and locking in the recall circuit to this point in space but a year advanced, so that Victoria has her time to study. Now once the Doctor chooses to use the proper button he can come back here, no matter how many random trips he makes first. She communicates this to him with a touch, and I feel Jamie react to it with strong jealousy. It startles me because normally I can't sense much about him. But for a brief moment I wonder if this Time Lady's use of the word 'Lover' has more meaning than I normally allow for in reference to my pilot.

The small Time Lady waits until she's outside, then places a delicate hand on my side, '_He is most precious, the hope of the Universe, I can't tell you how much, or when, and for that I'm sorry, Lynx. But your Doctor, someday, will give you – everything. Just guard him_.' None of it makes sense, but the flashes of the future, dark and horrible, flow around her like a jumble. She shows me, not the current events, but future ones that will build on this one, and I know the enemy of the distant future will kill my Doctor if he doesn't do this now. But the now will hurt him too. No wonder the Time Lady is sad.

Once she walked away the Doctor wasted no time in pressing the switch to dematerialize. He stood fast, but the hop in the vortex didn't take long, more because the programing was quite exact than anything else. Well, that and the fact that the Time Lady urged me to go right there and not fiddle. "This shouldn't take long, just a hop to a small science station to speak with a friend." I materialize in space. The Doctor takes a deep breath and looks at the scanner, "Come here, Jamie." The Scotsman calmly closes the distance and sucks in a breath as the dark haired man clutches his hand, letting the tingle that he normally holds back flow into the boy. "Look at that," he indicates the image, showing what amounts to a floating city in space, a metropolis built over successive waves of growth, "Space Station Chimera..."

"Look at the size o' that thing, Doctor!"

The Time Lord nods, "Yes, Jamie. That is a big one."

Jamie frowns, "'Just a wee laboratory,' eh?"

"Well, it's.. obviously.. it's grown," the expression on his face is one that relays exactly how much he is wondering about the individual that sent them here. He huffs.

"It's like twenty castles in the sky! Are you sure we've come to the right place?" Jamie asks as he moves to double check the readings, reaching for a lever that he knows will help with this task.

The Doctor smacks his fingers, "Of course I am!"

Jamie snatches his hand back, not really angered at the contact, "Ow... We don't usually get to where you say we're going."

The Doctor frowned. Perhaps he should tell the lad about the randomizer. He sighs, "I got Victoria to where she wanted to go. Though why she wants to learn graphology, I've no idea." He turned to the readings, "Besides, _Fred_ set the controls, Jamie." He sends the lad the mental image of the blond to stave off questions and frowns. This is the correct time, and the correct place. Why does he feel like he's walking into a massive trap? And will it endanger – no, he's not going to worry about that, not even think it. Fred indicated that he'd survive this, no matter what the danger, and he might even be able to stave off a later tragic happen-stance. If nothing else he trusts that information.

Jamie mumbled, "Ah, will we ever get back to her, though."

This makes him blink, yes he must tell the piper more about the controls, "Of course we will!"

"I'll believe that when I see it," Jamie contends.

"Jamie, I have the fast recall set, right here, locked in. It will take us straight back to Victoria, with a year's jump, at the end of her studies. _Fred_ programmed it. All right?" The lad nods, glancing at the control. That makes him feel better about leaving Miss Waterfield behind. The Doctor's face flushes for a moment, "And there's a randomizer on the controls, to – randomize – the readings, so that we can't be tracked or followed, like _Fred_ clearly managed to do. If she'd been anyone else, the situation might have been very bad."

"So it's not your steerin'?" Jamie asks, "You mean to be lost?"

He doesn't want to think about this now, really he doesn't. His hands are shaking, and he knows he needs to tell Jamie more, but he can't. He just – can't. "Don't you like our adventures?"

The lad closes his mouth, then says, "Of course. I like them very much. All my time with you."

The Doctor's brilliant smile wipes his mind clean of any other questions, dazzling and dumbfounding him. By the time Jamie's mind starts working again the Time Lord is back on the controls and carefully plotting his way inside the station, "Now then..." Jamie watches how the controls are manipulated, noticing that he's not learned these switches yet. The Doctor smiles at him again, inviting this time, and he moves close again, "I think we'll just dematerialize to avoid their detection beams, and slip in quietly." He indicates the readings that somehow become understandable with the brush of a hand over Jamie's.

The lad studies what he's doing then frowns, "Er, I thought you said they were friendly."

This makes the Doctor snort with amusement, remembering the last time he came here, "Friendly? I should think they'll be overwhelmingly so."

"Then why are we 'slipping in quietly?'" the lad asks still confused.

"Jamie, some of the most brilliant scientists in the universe have assembled here to work together in pure research. I don't want them to know that I've arrived!" The lad still looks lost, he shakes his head at him, "Think of the commotion! They'd all be scrambling around, wanting my autograph. No no no, I just want a quiet word with old Dastari, head of projects. Quick in, quick out. Back to Victoria. OK?" Jamie nods at this and the Doctor focuses on the controls. The one lever he needs hasn't been used in ages. He pulls the oil can for it from a pocket and lubricates it, "Right..." In spite his efforts the lever still sticks when he attempts to push it forward, no matter how much force he applies. He huffs and pleads with the TARDIS herself and she sends him a feeling that relays her willingness to work with him here. He pushes again, this time the lever moves all the way forward. The room shakes around them, something explodes and she assures him quickly that it is very minor, whatever it was. Both passengers hold on tightly, but the transit is quite short, "Splendid! We've hit conterminous time again."

Jamie rolls his eyes, "Well, we've certainly hit something."

The Doctor looks at the piper, barely holds back a flirt, shakes his head as he remembers they are still inside the ship, "Oh, Jamie.. Right, follow me." They reach the doors and the Time Lord puts his hand on Jamie's shoulder, "Wait!" He turns the lad to face him and puts a hand on his face, fingers against his temple. Fear flashes through him, something awful is about to happen. He carefully constructs a mental block inside Jamie's head before his lover can stop him, linking all the lad's humanity to the core of his being that he hides there. '_Someone knows, Jamie. Someone knows how I feel, what we've done. Remember, no matter what you witness here, no matter what you see, if you still feel me inside you, in here, there is hope. I'm with you, always_.' He pulls his mind back, "Jamie, don't go wandering off. Stay with me."

"Do I ever?"

This earns him another frown, "It has been known. And, er, let me do the talking, hm? All you have to do is to stand in the background, and admire my -" Jamie's voice joins his, somewhat mocking, "diplomatic skills." They however exit into the kitchens, which is not really the best of places, considering Dastari's habit of fondness for the most barbaric of species.

The rotund pock-marked chef is waiting for their exit, threatening with the most sure airs. "How dare you! How dare you transmat that.. 'object' into the kitchens of Shockeye, o' the Quawncing Grig?" He picks up a large knife and brandishes it with skill.

An Androgum? Has Dastari gone completely mad? "How dare you have the impertinence to address me like that? I am a Time Lord, and I am not interested in your pedigree." He needs to get Jamie out of here, quickly as possible. He feels the counter for a weapon as he edges the lad toward the door.

"Oh.. Oh.. I - my humblest apologies! I - I - I should have realized," the flame-haired eyebrows drooping in submission. He then spots the other fellow, a young juicy male, and nearly begins to salivate, "Er.. this, um, this one with you? Oh, such a soft white skin.. whispering of a.. a tender succulence.. Dastari will not appreciate its qualities, you know. He has no sensual refinement. Let me buy it from you."

Jamie tightens his grip on the Doctor's arm, "My companion is not for sale! He is from the planet Earth. A human."

This makes the alien smack his lips, "A Tellurian? Oh! I have not seen one of these before, I.. is it a gift for Dastari? I promise you lord, no chef in the nine planets would do more to bring out the flavour of the beast!"

The shocked air about the Doctor is more assurance than the vegetable that the Time Lord threatens the Androgum with, "A gift?? No! He's neither a gift nor food. Get away from us, you foul creature!" Heavens, if the Androgum realizes his current state then things will really get bad, "You get on with your butchery!" He frowns at the cucumber like plant in his hand and forces Shockeye to take it. He snags Jamie's hand, "Come along, Jamie!" The Scot twists to keep his eyes on the alien until the door closes, alarmed by the fellow's moans. Moments later there's the thud of a heavy cleaver into a side of meat. Jamie jumps a bit and further clings to the Doctor.

"Who was tha'?"

"Shockeye o' the Quawncing Grig, so he said. He's an Androgum, Jamie." this causes Jamie to look back to make sure they are still alone and that the alien has remained in his kitchens. "The Androgums are the servitors here. They do all the station maintenance." He thinks a moment and reaches for the remote, carefully making sure it is there still, and triggering the first command Fred told him about, '_In case of danger, or a need to send your ship away, press this programmed trigger. She'll wait for you in the Vortex_.'

Jamie translates the situation into one he can relate to, "Ah, you mean a scullion."

They are walking now to their goal, "Yes, with a high opinion of himself. Chefs usually have."

The echoing sound of Verity following his command reaches their ears. Jamie turns back, "That's the TARDIS!" He quickly reassures the lad that he sent the ship away and can call it back, they are in no danger of being left here. Or rather, less danger than they might be otherwise. The sensation of trouble washes over him again, leaving him shaking. They need to finish this quickly and leave. He ushers Jamie into a lift, through several more maze like passages and into the office of the man he needs to see.

The fellow is surprised to see him, but listens to everything the Doctor has to say. "I remember it very clearly, Doctor. You came to our inauguration, bearing fraternal greetings from Gallifrey."

The Doctor frowns, "Yes, yes.. that was before I, er, fell from favour. I - I'm a bit of an exile these days. Dastari, you can't have expected help from the Time Lords. Their policy is one of strict neutrality!"

"Nonetheless, there's been widespread disappointment among the other Third Zone governments," he says as he moves around the desk to a more open position.

The Doctor made a face, shaking his head "Don't chide me Dastari, I'm simply a messenger. Officially, I'm here quite unofficially. I'm a pariah! Exiled from Time Lord society. They can always deny sending me. But, they have been monitoring the experiments in time travel of the professors Kartz and Reimer. They want them stopped."

"I see... And how do the Time Lords equate that with a policy of complete 'neutrality?'" the man tosses back as he looks about his lavishly appointed office.

"They don't have to. As I said, I have no official existence. So, they can always deny sending me," the Doctor says again, glumly.

This makes the other man chuckle bitterly, "Ho-ho-ho.. oh, typical... Typical hypocrisy!" A woman enters at that moment, and suddenly the Doctor has a flash of what is about to happen, "Yes, Chessene?"

"I wondered if your guests require refreshment, Professor." At this the Doctor refuses, politely, but firmly. "Very good, Professor." She leaves. Destari reveals that she's been augmented, but is also an Androgum. His race, like the Doctor's, is an old one feeling the effects of sterility. He dreams of renewed vigour and life, even if that vigour and life is horribly twisted. The Doctor tries to warn him, but it is already too late. Genius and high passion without moral compass is a dangerous combination.

Somehow he manages to work the conversation back to the issue, but Dastari stubbornly digs in his heels, "Even if I wanted to, Doctor, I have no authority to order professors Kartz and Reimer to abandon their work. And what reason would I give? That 'the Time Lords have expressed concern?'"

The Doctor frowns, "Of course you have! You sanction all the experiments on this station. Dastari, our monitors have already detected ripples of up to point-four on the Bocher scale. Anything much higher would threaten the whole fabric of time! I've a suggestion. Stop these experiments for the time being, whilst my people study their work. If Kartz and Reimer really are on safe lines, I'm sure they'll be allowed to continue."

This unfortunately raises even more hackles, "They are well aware of the dangers, Doctor. They are responsible scientists. But hasn't it occurred to you that the Time Lords have a vested interest in ensuring that others do not discover their secrets? Your own machine is no longer in the station. Isn't that because you didn't want Kartz and Reimer to get a look at it? And what do you mean 'Allowed to continue?'"

"They are incompetent meddlers, and my machine isn't here because of something completely unrelated. If the experiments proved to be as harmless as you claim then my people would have no further objections. They've let others discover Time Travel, it's not something as hidden as all that. Only that missteps threaten reality itself!"

Dastari fumes and half gets to his feet, "In the first place, I have no authority to ask Kartz and Reimer to submit their work for analysis. And in the second place, the Time Lords have no right to make such a grossly unethical demand! I've never heard such unmitigated arrogance!"

Unethical? He is not being unethical. He's risking his life here, damn it all, "And I've never heard such specious claptrap! Oh, don't you pray to me about ethics! The balance of the space-time continuum could be destroyed by your ham-fisted numbskulls!"

Suddenly Dastari pales, " I.. don't feel there's anything to be gained by.. prolonging this discussion, Doctor." He's feeling unwell. Jamie sees it, but the Doctor does not.

"Dastari, you have more letters after your name than anyone I know. Enough for two alphabets. How is it you can be such a stupid, stubborn, irrational, and thoroughly objectionable old idiot?" He glances at Jamie who smirks at him, "Oh, what are you smiling at, you, you hairy-legged highlander?" behind him Dastari removes his glasses and sinks back into his chair, struggling to remain aware.

The piper dares to flirt, "I'm just admiring your diplomatic skills." He knows that in places like this he can get away with it.

The Doctor flushes a bit, "Pah!"He then looks over at Dastari and notices with a bit of alarm that the fellow is slumped against the desk, "Dastari?"

"He's go' his head do'n, Doctor. I can't say I blame 'im," Jamie says in his rich Scottish burr, sending shivers down the Time Lord's spine.

This reaction is not what he needs right now. "I'll thank you not to speak in that appalling mongrel dialect."

Jamie smirks even more, knowing exactly how the Doctor feels at the moment, "I mean, he's gone to sleep."

"He's no' asleep -" both men catch the slip at the same time, Jamie with triumph and the Doctor with a wince, "He's not asleep Jamie. He's drugged!" The sounds of battle outside cut off the lad's questions. Hell. "I would have thought a Jacobite would recognize that sound, but perhaps not laser fire. Listen to me, Jamie. -" He's interrupted by a man running past screaming a warning. The scientist struck down by a laser bolt, falling dead instantly. He knows this species. "Jamie, run."

"What?"

"Run, I say! Save yourself!" his condition will make these aliens hesitate to use his genetic material, and provide a buffer against whatever they might attempt to do to him. Jamie however... Jamie is in real danger here. '_Remember, I'm always with you, Lad. Just a thought away. As long as you can feel me, there is hope._' Jamie stares at him for a long moment, knowing that he's got no choice. The sounds of marching feet, heavy boots, pounding in unison, makes him turn tail and flee as the Doctor's eyes are begging him to do. The Time Lord turns just as the Sontaran form appears in the open door over the body of the scientist. He puts his hands in the air. He knew not to trust that woman – _Fred_. But no matter what, he'd keep his link with Jamie open. He would. He vowed it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie manages, somehow, to avoid the aliens – both those in armour that look like cutout copies of each other and the ones with the ruddy bushy eyebrows that want to eat him. He keeps trying to think of some way to reach the Doctor, because if he could... just free him then everything would be OK. Now he feels pain dancing along his nerves, but he knows where the Doctor is. He must try. The Scot makes his way to the service passage, until he spots the crate he'd placed before. The armoured aliens have converted Dastari's office to a torture chamber, and often when he feels this pain he knows the Doctor is here. He silently scales the crate and looks in.

It's the same sight he's seen before, the Doctor encased in a glass tube, bathed in blue light, soundlessly convulsing with the same pain Jamie feels skittering over his nerves. He bets he can take on the single alien in the room, if he can just sneak in there. He's torn between rage that they dared to hurt his Thete, and agony at not being able to prevent it. Well, not today. He'll get in there and he'll kill this monster for what he's putting the Doctor through. He's lost enough weight now to fit through this grill. If he can just get it open. He's so intent on his task of working it loose that he does not hear the other alien until it puts down the container it was carrying.

He swirls around, dirk in hand, ready to defend himself. The Doctor is counting on his remaining free. Needing more space he leaps off the box to the floor. He'd like nothing better than to kill the one that called himself Shockeye. The alien looks gleeful, and seems to think that the dirk is little trouble. Well... Jamie knows how to use it, and he intends to, if he must. "Whoa there... Steady now.. quiet boy.. easy.. Shockeye will not hurt you," the flame haired bushy eyebrowed creature says. His body language gives him away, though. He thinks this is sport. Jamie narrows his eyes then attacks, using a skilful upward cut to drive the horrible thing back. The scent of blood fills the air, inhuman, yes, but blood all the same. "Oh.. we are wild, aren't we?"

Just then another alien enters the room, "Shockeye! Why aren't you on the ship?" If Jamie hadn't seen her and been told she was the same as the male he might have trusted her, but now... he sees them both as a threat, and he still needs to save the Doctor.

However, Shockeye cowers, "I was just.. collecting some provisions, madam!"

"The ship is fully stocked."

The male picks up the container he'd set down, "Oh, but the standard rations are so boring. These are a few special things for the journey.. a cold collation I prepared." This gains the female's full attention, and with them both focused on the food Jamie dares to beat a hasty retreat before he falls prey to the intensifying pain that consumes the Doctor.

He contiunes feeling the faint sensation of pain, off and on. It comes through his link to the man, this Jamie knew. Sometimes the pain would increase to the point of being all he was aware of. When this happened, and Jamie had some warning that it was going to happen, he would find some dark place to hide and ride out the sensation, trying to give the Doctor as much of himself as he could. So much time passed... so very much. He lost count of the days. He hid in the worker's clothes, keeping his face hidden. The pain was always there. But that was OK. As long as he felt the pain there was hope. And then the pain faded...

It was the sound first that drew him back to the kitchens. The familiar sound of Blue. A sound he knew in his heart. The pain was gone, had been gone for a long time. And with it went his mind. He discarded everything but for his dirk, and a small cloth, stained and dirty that smelt of honey and spring on the moors. This cloth was important, been left for him, he knew. Dropped from a shaking hand at one of the places where the aliens left. Sometimes when he remembered what the smell meant he cried. He cried but didn't know why.

So the sound of Blue... his but not... when it appeared it shook a memory and he huddled and waited for the odd pair to make their way away... he touched it, not sure it was real and felt her... Finally accepted. She was worried. Denial, no entrance. But then... If his Thete had listened to him finally then this wasn't his – blue – TARDIS. He sniffed the air. Smelled the same. He crept back into the vents and followed, silently trailing the strange couple. One male... blond curls, larger man than he knew so well, unable to feel him as he should, so long... so.

The others trip the defenses. He backs away, knowing where to go to be safe.

This other Thete, not his, picks up the girl when she dropped and carries her. The go into the same place his Thete had spent so much time in. The lights come on. The man tricks the door open into the service hall after a bit. He scurries away, but not before he catches a whiff of honey and spices. This is his Thete, but changed. And the girl is touching him. Possessive rage flows from within. He trails them back to blue. The observes where they are going. He knows how to get to the bottom and can be there before they are. He makes his way down and is waiting for them when they land. The girl is first. He has time, he could kill her, but something keeps him from acting.

Thete cares for this female. He shouldn't kill her, should he? Instead he follows them as the move through the maze here, knowing the space better than his own mind. They reach the mind of the castles in the sky and the girl separates even though he has let them know he's following (and sometimes leading) them. She smells of honey and cloves still and he is overwhelmed. He must get closer.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They landed. The Doctor knows this. He's alone, so alone.

Retreated from the pain, from the drugs, into the other inside him. Shouldn't be there, in that tiny mind, but he has no choice, can't let them get what they want; what they think they need. He can't move, but he knows they have landed. The air tells him he's on Earth, the same way it would scream Gallifrey to him. It sings in his blood, part of him.

So far his condition has saved him, forcing him to heal faster and endure more than he'd normally be able to do. He placed himself in a sort of Temporal freeze, shortly after the scan taken by the Cybermen. An effort to stop the progression and growth inside his body. He can't terminate this. Not unless he wants to die too. And he won't, can't, regenerate either. Rather a pickle, if he must say. But the unorthodox state of his body forces all the damage to almost regress to keep him in the exact state he was in when he started the Temporal freeze. He's pulling power almost directly from the vortex. So much power. And surely someone will eventually notice what he's doing and wonder why.

Of course his wardens have no idea how unusual a state he's physically in. He's given them the impression that his kind are god-like and indestructible. The Sontarans reproduce by cloning however, and none of them could even guess that he's – pregnant. _Oh Rassilon_. He just admitted it. It's a good thing he is paralyzed and existing in a odd super conscious state, or he'd be vomiting, violently, right about now. The fact that the entire race of Sontarans are male means that they can't even begin to imagine that he, a male, might have the ability to carry out such a foreign – female – thing. It's almost like they take the base-line medical readings they have of him and assume he's got some type of nifty sub-brain in his stomach. Some small part of him is ironically amused. If he finds Jamie again he really should tell him.

He locates the tattered edge of the bond in the larger mind, the adult body, through the pain and dares to give it a tug. But he cannot pull too hard, because if he does he'll force a physical-psychic link between the babe and Jamie and he mustn't do that, even if he's using that mind to hide in at the moment. How long has it been? How far does the bond stretch? Will Jamie feel him across time and space? He doesn't know. He's helpless. Not even his massive use of power to keep himself in this state of hyper healing lends to the overall situation. But he must do everything he can to protect -Jamie, their son- ... even if he never tells anyone, even if he's like this forever...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He feels a pull in his head, achy tug, a flair of the old pain. Pain was good, wasn't it. The colourful Thete was working in the colourful bubbling wall, while the female was wandering about. Maybe... maybe their blue could find his blue and get him his Thete back? He waits until the female is on the ground and sneaks up on her. He has no plan. What if she is alien? No, she smells human. Female. Cherries and honey. Honey from Thete's touching her.

She finds his stuff, his secret stash of bedding and blankets. Not important. The pain stops again. He freezes, panicked. The link falls quiet. _Thete_? But what is the use? He's not answered back in a very long time. She finds the cloth, the stained honey scented cloth. He leaps at her. She screams. All he wants is the cloth back. She keeps a grip on it, refusing to let it go. "Grr... MINE!" he roars it at her.

Above them the colourful Thete calls, "Peri!" and there's the hiss of the trap being sprung. Knocked out by the gas he falls onto the safety net of sorts that Jamie had created from loose cables, having fallen prey to that trap once before.

The female twists and he snatches at her hands with his other, trying to get her to let go of the cloth while retaining his own grip on it. She lets go finally, tucking into a roll and bouncing him against the wall. He grunts as he falls, having gotten what he wants, clutching at the old stained cloth like it's made of gold or something. He goes still as she stands over him, breathing hard. She recognizes that cloth. From inside a box, in the TARDIS wardrobe room, stacked with a stovepipe hat and a funny pair of wind instruments. Peri shakes her head and turns back to the Doctor, who is, typically, caught up in a webbing of cable and absolutely no use what so ever. She starts getting him down, "Thanks for your help, Doctor!" She allows his passed out form to fall in a thud to the floor and then kneels down, "Doctor? Wake up!" The fool groans at her. She frowns, "C'mon!"

He's out of sorts. Something about this should be ringing a bell. But it's not. Like it's blocked. Or something. "What is it?"

Peri scrambles to her feet then tugs the heavy man to his, ignoring his weak moans. Honestly, he's such a big baby, "C'mon, Doctor, get up! That thing you saw was an animal. It attacked me.... And it's human, I think!"

"Ugh, Peri!" He manages to get his balance, "If you hadn't screamed I wouldn't have triggered that stun jet; I was expecting there'd be one!...it can't be human. We're in the farthest reaches of the Galaxy. Huh. Ballroom gas. An ordinary person would have been unconscious for hours."

She rolls her eyes. In one breath he's telling her that Humans are everywhere, and then in the next claiming they're not, "Well it's _humanoid_ at any rate...come and see it. And so would you if I hadn't dragged you clear of it!"

"No! I closed my respiratory passages as soon as I detected any danger!"

Such a baby... "Well, then how did you breath?"

He manages a small laugh, "With difficulty. I'll explain one day." He then spots the form, still curled. The Doctor kneels beside it, "Yes, it certainly does appear to be humanoid...so it finally mustered the courage to attack..."

"I think it might've been my fault... it was just protecting it's nest."

"Understandable," he concedes. It's a rare thing when he admits she's right about something, and Peri feels as though he has showered her with praise. The blond curly headed man turns the fellow over, and lets out a gasp, "Jamie?" Oh... a young Jamie. With his kerchief clutched in his hands. The Doctor feels his hearts skip a beat. It's been – 500, 550? years. He feels the tears in his eyes and the ache of agony flood through him, as the horrible memories of their parting pound him again. Vaguely he is aware that Peri is talking. He blinks slowly and flushes, "It's Jamie! How did he get here? He should be with me."

It occurs to her that his reaction is not normal, and his connection to this former companion is not normal, and that he's not normal... "What?" She can't deny that perhaps after a bath and a shave this bloke might be worth the Doctor's fluster, but right now the boy stinks, and she wants to leave. "Well, he's not now, Doctor, not anymore." Jamie groans.

"Yes, that's right... but if he's here, then where am I?... I must have been here, Peri!"

It takes her a moment to understand what he's saying, "You mean at some past time?"

"Uh-huh." Almost as if he's roused by the voice Jamie suddenly is fully awake and panicked, going into full fight mode. The Doctor knows the boy though, knows how to catch him and how to hold him, "It's alright, Jamie, it's all right!" He begins to try to treat the lad, working with the medical technology here, "Alright..."

The touch is familiar, the hands are not. Jamie thinks it's a trick of his demented mind, his wishing so strongly... "Keep away! Hurry! Keep off!"

He finally gets the proper dosage to calm the lad, "Jamie! It's all right!" He administers first a pulse to settle the boy's nerves, because he can't risk mental contact with him. He just can't. He can feel the bond and he wants it so badly, but he knows it no longer exists for him and he can't force it on the lad again. Jamie fights him even so, " Don't worry... it will help you to relax..." he doses him with the chemicals next, rocking him softly.

"Help him relax? You've killed him!"

He looks up at her, and raises an eyebrow at the words, "Don't be ridiculous!" then he stares back at the Scottish piper with all the longing and memories swirling in his head, "You know, I seem to remember I was always very fond of Jamie..." Understatement of the century there... very fond. Madly in love with... missed him with a passion. But he'd never leave the lad, not willingly. So what happened and where is his second self?

Peri feels a twinge of jealousy, followed closely by massive concern, "He's not moving."

"Nope. His nervous system's temporarily paralysed. He'll be fine shortly."

Jamie struggles to express what he fears is true before the familiar phantom leaves him. "Doctor...Doctor... They're killing the Doctor," he says, although it takes Peri a moment to understand him.

While her Doctor tries to get Jamie to continue, Peri realizes that he's actually making matters worse, "He's not talking to you."

This causes the Doctor to let go and nearly jump to his feet, "I'm afraid he's deranged. It's often the effect of extreme fear." Peri rolls her eyes. The blond man stalks away.

"Murdering the Doctor... They killed the Doctor..."

She sighs and brushes her fingers over his dirty cheek, "Jamie?" She leans closer, trying to connect to him, "Can you hear me? My name's Peri. I'm your friend. Do you understand?"

"Friend?" he seems hopeful for a moment until she echoes the word and then he goes back to, "They've killed the Doctor."

Her Doctor is suddenly standing behind her, "He seems very sure of that."

"Is it possible? You did SAY you were being put to death."

He wants to deny it out of hand, "Of course not! I exist therefore I am, and was." Peri gives him a look that reads 'Don't Start' and he sighs, "Oh, yes, I remember. That mind-slip in the TARDIS. Yes, I did...I wonder if it could've been here?" But there's something else going on. If only he could remember why he came here five hundred or so years ago.

"Don't ask me, I don't understand any of this!" Peri tells him.

He manages a smile at her, "Ah, neither do I! Not yet." He kneels again, producing a silver fob-watch. Only two ways to get the answer, and he can't use one of them. That leaves him with this... "Jamie, I want you to look at this pretty little thing here." He lets the watch take on a gentle sway until he's caught the piper's blue-green eyes, "See? Look how it swings? Backwards... forwards. Forwards...backwards." The lad trusts him, even as a complete stranger. He's almost acting compelled to follow the watch lifting his head even to get a better view, "It makes your eyes feel... heavy. So heavy. Sleep. Sleep." The piper doesn't even fight it, sliding into deep hypnosis smooth as you please, "Now, why did you come here with the Doctor?"

"To see Dastari," Jamie says.

"Did you see him?"

Jamie answers, "Aye... they had an argument"

This, Peri notices, causes much distress, "The Doctor had an argument with Dastari? What about?"

"The Time Lords."

Peri makes a face. What was this Time Lord stuff about? But the Doctor's slight hiss keeps her from asking anything, "What happened then, Jamie? Can you remember?"

"There was a battle. The knights came and killed everyone."

This made the Doctor frown. "The knights?" He's got some idea here as to who the real criminal are, "What were they like, Jamie, can you tell me?"

"They had a sort of... armour. Heavy... with no necks. And their hands were just... two great fingers. They killed everyone," and suddenly he's awake and struggling against the paralysis, "They killed the Doctor I saw 'em!"

The Doctors hands reach for Jamie's face reflectively before he forces them down to the lad's chest. _Oh Rassilon_! He's going to be so very tempted to re-establish the bond. "It's alright Jamie!" He gently murmurs the lad back into the hypnosis, "Sleep. Sleep." Jamie relaxes. He sits there a moment with his eyes closed, then carefully removes the medical devices from the piper's throat. Peri watches him silently. She could be amazingly perceptive sometimes. He stands before he falls to temptation, "He just gave a reasonably accurate description of the Sontarans." She tries to get more information from him and he brushes her off, "Let's see if anything's recorded in that computer."

Soon enough he discovers what happened here, if not the why. And he is able to reassure Jamie when Peri brings him into the room that what he saw was not the Doctor being killed. The entire thing seems simple enough, the Sontarans figuring they can use this attack to turn the local governments against Gallifery and perhaps Rutan as well. But then he realizes one other important thing. The Time Travel experiment was gone, his second self was gone, and a brilliant geneticist was gone... He swallowed. Suddenly all the pieces fell into place. Sontarans. Time Travel access. Very bad.

He concludes that the fastest way to locate himself is to attempt the mindslip again, even though it will tie him tightly to his second self, more so than most. It's a scary thing, having to live through that again. But if he doesn't do this then he could radically alter his personal timeline forever. "Now, I shall seem to be unconscious for quite a while but don't worry. And while my mind is out of my body don't touch me: don't come anywhere _near _me! Any sort of contact might sever the astral link and kill me," he tells the two humans in the room. He loves them both, so much, in different ways, of course, but still. He'd do this for Jamie alone. He settles on a bench in the corner of the room and closes his eyes.

Peri frowns, "How long will you be?"

He really doesn't know, "Oh, seconds... hours....days? Who knows? There's no such thing as 'time' on the astral plane." with that he closes his eyes and floats away.

Jamie is positive that this man is the Doctor. Just not his Doctor. Maybe Peri's Doctor. But not the man he's madly in love with, in spite the Doctor's claim of being the same person. He leans toward the dark headed lady, "I think your Doctor's worse than mine." She glances at him and then nods. There is no way any of the various Doctors could be worse than hers.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

His hyper aware state reveals to him more than he really likes. The fact that Dastari is a willing partner to this madness, for one. The fact that he's been drugged (although his body is fighting it off rather better than he'd hoped for. And the chemical isn't one that will harm the growth inside him). He's strapped to a large metal table. And he guesses that he's in a cellar. A female voice echoes through his skull, "How is he?"

Oh, no-no-no... she sounds like she's taken a shine to him. It's just not possible. Well, it might be... but no. "He'll soon come round," says his former friend as he walks closer.

There's a sting and he is forced into the adult mind. Even before he opens his eyes, his thoughts turn to chemically protecting the son he's carrying. And he feels something else, another version of himself gliding over his mind, whispering that he's found his bonded, that the Scotsman is safe, that it's still OK. He's coming. They are coming. All he has to do is hold on. He flutters his eyes open, "Jamie..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Doctor's hands lowered to land on his stomach for a moment, as though he's in distress. He's contacted his second self, although it took a bit to find him, hidden as he was. _Oh, Oh.. _he curls and almost loses his breakfast. How did he ever hide that? Then he catches his Second self's overriding concern and fear, not for himself, oh no... but for his bonded, "Jamie!"

Both companions rush over to his side. "Oh come on, Doctor. Wake up!" Peri begs.

The Doctor blinks, "Where I am... and...where I.. Peri. Jamie. Was I away very long?"

"Doctor?" says she.

"Just minutes," the piper adds.

Oh, but he knows where he's being held. "Boing! Boing! Bells, my dear! Bells! Come on, there isn't a moment to lose." He jumps up and spins Peri around after lifting her to her feet. She is confused but as he rushes away to the TARDIS both companions decide to follow him. Good thing too, because he knows where his second self is being held and is frantic to reach him. Hell, if he didn't know better he'd swear that he was the pregnant one...

"Where are we going?"

He stops and looks at her, "I don't know... something to do with getting my hair cut." He whirls back around and starts off to the TARDIS again. The humans, confused as they are, still follow him. It not until after he's sent Jamie off for a bath that he is able to calm enough to explain to Peri what he actually heard, "Boing!... the largest of the 25 bells in the cathedral at Seville! Most distinctive."

She gives him an expression that hovers between annoyed and adoring, "You certainly specialize in arcane knowledge."

He smugly beams at her, "Of course. Now we know the area where they're holding me. Now it's in the distance..." he calculates it, "About three miles, I should judge. You ever been to Seville, Peri?"

"No. Have you?"

His exasperated expression is just too cute to ignore, "How else would I know the sounds of Mario when I hear it, oh do try and use your brain, my girl!" he actually pats her head, which is likely the most affection she's going to get from him, ever. Although he clearly can love deeper, as Jamie's very presence here shows. "Small though it is the human brain can be quite effective when it's used properly!" He turns his attention back to the TARDIS and works with his beloved timeship to get them close to his other self.

"You might be wrong," Peri contends.

He scoffs, "I'm NOT wrong. Now, the station was attacked ten or twelve days ago; in hyperdrive a Sontaran battle cruiser would take that long to reach Earth: it could only just have reached there!" He catches sight of Jamie as the lad reenters the control room and has to fight to keep his attitude neutral, "Ah, you look better for your change of clothes and your bath. You should try it more often."

"Oh, thank you. What?" Jamie finds it hard to not feel this Doctor the way he feels his own. The Doctor told him this tie would be forever, beyond death. So what would have severed it? And why did this Doctor act so hot and cold toward him?

It fell to Peri, as it did most times, to sooth ruffled feathers, "Take no notice, Jamie, he's being crotchety. I think you look wonderful."

"I am NOT crotchety. I am just...well, concerned," the Time Lord bit off his words because there were still things he couldn't tell. "About myself, chiefly. I mean, him. Languishing in some dark dungeon at the mercy of the Sontarans." But he wanted to tell Jamie, the lad deserved to be told. But who knew how badly his knowing would mess stuff up? Was he even supposed to have found him? Suddenly he didn't know. Everything was wrong.

Peri scoffed, "You can't be sure he's in a dungeon."

"There was an echo. An after resonance. When you've been locked in as many dungeons as me you wouldn't fail to recognize it. Well, are you ready?" Jamie blinks at him and asks what he should be ready for, while Peri just gets a good handhold, "Transference!" he says as he hits a switch and sending both himself and the piper backwards across the room. At least Peri has the grace to not giggle about it.

"Now my Doctor wouldna' have done THAT!" Jamie contends as he jumps in the Doctor's face. But then the temptation is to kiss the lad, and he knows he shouldn't, so he scowls. Jamie spins to the controls and makes for some switches, as though he knows what he's doing.

And it's possible he taught the lad something ... He doesn't remember now. He smacks the piper's hand. "Your _Doctor_, is an antediluvian fogy, allowing himself to be captured by the Sontarans. If anything happens to me as a result of it I shall never forgive himself." Not to mention the very important fact that the fellow is – currently – impossibly – pregnant. If something happens to his younger self that might cause a regeneration he'll simply fade away. Peri and Jamie both complain about his use of language making him feel even crosser than before.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Right, hold on. As if... but he feels like he's twisting up inside and has a very bad feeling it's only going to get worse, "Uh...good morning."

"Don't try moving. You'll feel dizzy for a time."

He knows that voice, "Dastari? So...I've been drugged." He considers the effects and how his bio-chemistry is keeping half his system free of it, "What'd you use? It feels like...one of the anemones." He swallows.

The other man gleefully says, "Absolutely right. Syrill Anemone."

His stomach churns, "Syrill Anemone?" He ignores being told to not move, as he feels like he's going to be rather sick. His body wants this out now and is filtering the stuff into his upper stomach. Suddenly he doesn't care how dignified it would be and is rather violently ill off the side of the table. It's only after its been forced from his system that he says, "But that effects the memory..."

"We're not interested in your memory," comes a female voice that is, quite frankly, more impressed than not They've had him on a fast drip of the drug the entire trip and his body's been rejecting and isolating it almost quicker than they could get it into his blood. Now she has witnessed exactly where all that solution has been stored.

The Doctor makes a face and twists to look at her, "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Behind her is the kitchen help, eating. He feels the need to vomit again and spits out, "Oh, augmented Androgum," before facing over the edge of the table again. This time it's more stomach acid than drug. Then the Sontarans come marching into the cellar. It's too much, and he retches again, more a dry heave, "Oh, I don't think much of the company you keep, Dastari." he ignores the babble, saving only the names of Group Marshall Stike of the 9th Sontaran attack group and Major Varl. But his mind connects the pieces together and even though he can feel Jamie it doesn't mean he's totally sure, "Sontarans... I remember now...the space station. I had someone with me...Jamie!" He looks at the woman, "What've you done with Jamie?"

She shows no compassion at all, "Your companion will be long-since dead, Doctor. The Sontarans take no prisoners."

Even though he's been sick, feels weak and shaky still, his sudden surge of panic is enough to have him spring from the surface, "No!" It takes both Dastari and Shockeye to force him into the more secure operating table. He struggles best he can, "Poor old Jamie."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He can feel his younger self's despair from here, honestly. Had he not been clear? He leaves his coat as it's too hot in the Spain summer for one and marches out the door. Nearly immediately he's accosted, "Officer!" just figures that for once someone would see the TARDIS and think it's a real police box. He looks about for the fellow calling while Peri and Jamie slip out the door. The man comes into his line of sight, "We have to report a tragedy. Stark disaster has struck this simple countryside."

"Tragedy?...erm, what manner of disaster, Mister..?"

"Botcheby. Oscar Botcheby at your service, sir, and this dark-eyed naiad is named Anita."

Said naiad blushes a bit, "Oh, come on, Oscar." then she addresses the Doctor, "There has been a plane crash."

He pointedly ignores the jab about his clothes and presses for information, "Er, did you _see_ this... aeroplane?" The man explains that they didn't see the craft, but the heard it and furthermore saw three survivors, one of which was carried. They even are able to pinpoint the hacienda by name. He nods, "Were they, indeed? I think you may well have done me a great service Mr. Botcheby. I think you saw three fugitives, whose trail we have been following for a long time. Perhaps you can lead us to this hacienda?" Anita is perfectly willing to lead them there, and the Doctor is more than willing to follow, in spite the coward that Mr. Botcheby was turning out to be. The Doctor points out the public service angle of it again and gains them a guide.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The sensation he feels right now is one that he's not sure is good. His kind can go for up to forty days without food, normally. He's pretty sure though that his condition reduces that rather a lot. He's got some reserves, yes, but he feels like he needs water at the very least to reduce the lightheadedness. There's a noise and he turns his head to see what other infernal torture he might be subjected to. Dastari wheels in a dark pyramid-shaped single person pod, a primitive Time Capsule. Even from here he can tell what it is, and he knows it being here is very bad news, "What have you got there?"

"The Kartz-Reimer transference module," he is told.

"Well, that'll never work: I can tell that from here!" he snarls, "All it did was produce a few hiccups in the time continuum: enough to tell us that dangerously crude experiments were going on."

He gets a raised eyebrow, "It worked well enough to bring you to the Space Station, Doctor. Kartz and Reimer were clearly on the right track: several androgums successfully vanished into time during those experiments. Unfortunately we were unable to bring them back."

"Unfortunate? No one can travel through time without a molecular stabilization system."

Dastari beams, "We know that now. And we know that Time Lords have a symbiotic link with their machines which protects them, and anyone with them, against destabilization."

At this he gets a very sinking feeling, expressed with a shaky laugh. It quickly turns bitter, "Guess work!" The problem is Dastari is half right. The changes are wrought in every Time Traveler, by the TARDIS. Part of what she does as soon as someone steps inside. However, he does have a link to his, weakened. It's going to be impossible to explain that what he's after he won't find, simply because he's looking for the wrong thing. Control and survival are two entirely different elements.

"DON'T underestimate Chessene, Doctor. She was the brain behind Kartz and Reimer. And it was she who realized that the missing element had to lie somewhere -" he motions to the Doctor's head, "in here."

Wrong, wrong wrong... his connection with his TARDIS exists in he hearts more than his brain. In his soul more than his body. The bad thing is, Dastari is brilliant to figure this out, after he's been killed. "So what're you going to do? Hm? Cut me up, piece-by-piece?"

"Let us say cell-by-cell, or gene-by-gene, until I isolate the symbiotic nuclei."

Oh, but – he can't do that! Currently his body is in a state of Temporal freeze. Taking a blood sample or a few surface cells won't work because of genetic flux. And no matter how the scientist tries, he won't be getting results from him that will make any logical sense because of his draw on the Vortex. He's got so much artron energy in his blood and brain right now that the experiment must fail. Oh but it is going to hurt... "When did you go mad, Dastari?"

The man has the gall to laugh at his panic and anger, "I assure you I am not at all mad."

"Then you're totally under Chessene's domination!" his mind snaps ahead to the simple fact that if she's behind this all then things could get very much worse before they are better, "Are you going to give her the power of time travel? Is that the idea?"

"I shall put her among the gods! And there will be no limit to her achievements." after a moment he says, "You don't know Chessene. I confess I was sad that the Time Lords chose to send you as their emissary. Because I've always had a certain... regard for you, Doctor, personally."

He frowns and struggles, "There'll be no limit to her capacity for evil! She's an Androgum, Dastari, whatever you may say! She'll snap off the hand that feeds her whenever she feels hungry!"

"The operation will, by necessity, be very painful. But-"

"–it'll hurt you more than it hurts me," he cuts off the fellow with much sarcasm.

It earns him a second glance at least, "What gave you that idea? No, I was going to say 'but at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you have been part of a great undertaking'."

As the man walks away the Doctor vents his anger, "You are an irresponsible old fool! The Androgums are barbarians! Release them into time and every civilized species in the Galaxy will curse your name! Do you hear me?" but the upper door closes, leaving him alone with his worry, "Oh, my giddy-on, oh crumbs!" He's left to stew for all of fifteen minutes before Stike rolls a try with various surgical things on it into the space, "Tea-time already, Nurse?"

The bloke gives him a typical blank look, "I do not understand."

"Just as well. A face like yours wasn't made for laughing." He moves the tray a bit more and fumes. The Doctor tries another tactic to get free, "What was it? 'A vital strike in the Madeline Cluster'? Oh, dear me. Nothing changes, does it? You and the Rutans have become petrified in your attitudes."

"The operation must begin at once. I am needed at the front. Nothing _can_ change until victory is achieved! But..." he pauses to think, which for his species is a scary thing, "but I fear I might have made a tactical error."

"Oh, I thought the Sontarans never made mistakes. Why don't you resign, Stike? Take a pension?"

The fellow glowers, "It is not easy being commander; the loneliness of supreme responsibility." he then leans in closer, "When I die it will be alongside my comrades at the front. Doctor, you have a chance to, in death, help the Sontaran cause. Tell Dastari where your symbiotic nuclei are in your cell structure! Time will be saved and I can be on my way."

"How can I do that?" He feels – oh, yes. The link he forged with Jamie thrums and throbs. His dear Jamie. Must be fairly close then. How? Had the piper stowed away? Had _Fred _sent more help? Or was he captive, because the Sontarans realized that anyone who had been in a TARDIS could survive that primitive Time Capsule? "Is that what Chessene's offered you? The knowledge of unlimited time travel?" in spite himself, he laughs. It's a bitter harsh sound. Stike moves out of his personal space, " If that's the case, you should watch your back, Stike."

"What?"

How can he not know? "She's an Androgum! A race to whom treachery is as natural as breathing! They're a bit like you Sontarans in that respect!" This should gain him the right to duel, and up off this table. Instead Stike hits him across the face hard enough to rattle teeth and crack bone, which heals instantly thanks to the Temporal freeze.

"That's for a slur on my people!"

"And for that I demand satisfaction!" he spits back. If Stike is as honour bound as others of his ilk he should release his captive and face him in honest battle.

But Stike shakes his entire form in negative, "You know that is impossible!"

"I am challenging you to a duel, Stike! That is traditional among Sontarans, isn't it?"

The fellow moves to hit him again, "Oh, I would dearly love to kill you!" but he stops himself with the greatest of difficulty, "...but unfortunately you are needed alive."

He's never been so angered, never. Well maybe once before. But not over such stupidity, "Release me, Stike! You are not only without honour... you're a coward as well!"

Then the real blow falls, "As you are not a Sontaran, Doctor, you cannot impugn my honour." He storms away.

Well, fiddlesticks. He sighs. Usually Sontarans took that bait and ran with it. Not, apparently, this one. "Well, that didn't work, did it?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He's left his companions up on a hill in hiding and slipped to the house in question to get a look about. Now he felt in the pit of his stomach this nausea that was brought about by the increased mental connections with his second self. Whatever it was that was being done made his younger self violently ill, and he's not sure he can explain that to Jamie, or Peri for that matter, without making a royal mess of it all. So he goes alone, secretly hoping he can get inside and get his younger self out easily.

It's not to be, however. First he runs across an odd conversation about food of all things. It should be a clue, he suspects. But the woman looks like a thousand other advanced alien species – human rather, and does not raise an overt sense of alarm even if the male with her is studying several cookbooks at a time while stuffing his face and rattling off habits that humans engage in with their food production. If he could just get a look at the fellow's face he'd know exactly what he's dealing with here. Of course he falls. Stupid. Really.

He barely avoids being seen by the dark headed woman that leans out the window looking for the source of the noise. He's grateful that she does not look down. There's little else to see once the window closes. He detects another alien form, one that bothers him a bit, and decides that he needs more help. He carefully makes his way back to the others.

They are chatting about acting of all things and not even Jamie hears him as he approaches. Well Anita does, but looks the wrong way. At least they have the will to hide at the warning. He's already in their chosen spot and clears his throat. "Oh, Doctor, you scared us! Do you have to creep up like that?" Peri admonishes.

He sits, "You were expecting a brass band?"

Jamie sighs, "Did ya find out anything?"

The worry etched into the Scottish piper's face ages him like nothing else. The Doctor wants to comfort him. But – he can't. Too risky, to even willingly touch the lad. He sighs, "No... but the Sontarans are here, I can sense their presence. Anita, this Doña Arana, is she tall and dark?" The young lady answers that with a no. He frowns, "Oh, it wasn't her, then. I couldn't see the man she was with: He had his back to me. I couldn't tell if he was human or not."

Jamie swallows, "That woman, was she wearing a long gray frock?"

"Couldn't have put it better myself."

The Scot nods, "Well, she was at the Space Station, then!"

Behind them Oscar is making odd sounds and trying to figure out if they are joking. The Doctor fixes him with an expression that makes him fall silent, somewhat frightened. The Time Lord then turns back to Jamie, "Was she now?"

"Aye. Dastari said she was... angriman... or something."

"Androgum?"

Jamie's face lights up, "Yeah, that's it. Oh, he said he'd done some operations and turned her into a genius."

Things start to fall into place, and that odd conversation suddenly makes much more sense, "Of course!... though her features haven't the heaviness of a typical Androgums. Whatever Dastari's done to her mind her nature will stay exactly the same... and Androgums have as much emotional capacity as... as a Gumblejack." Peri steps in to get things back on track and asks what they should do now. The Doctor thinks a moment, "We have to find a way to get into that hacienda without being detected."

Anita at that point says, "I know a secret way into the cellars. It used to lead in from the old icehouse."

Sometimes, he loves humans! "The cellars! That's even better! Peri, you'll have to cause a distraction while Jamie and I try to find out where I'm being held."

Peri narrows her eyes, "What sort of distraction?"

"Do _I_ have to think of everything? Knock on the door and say you're lost!"

She shakes her head, "I don't speak Spanish!"

The Doctor flashes her that brilliant grin that makes it impossible for her to not go along with his hare-brained schemes, "That's all right. Neither do they." They all get to their feet but for his companion. He turns to the local couple, "Right, Anita, time to show us this icehouse."

Peri tries one last time to find another way, "What if a Sontaran answers the door?"

"That's not very likely. They seem to be keeping well out of the way at the moment. Come on!" He pulls the girl to her feet ignoring the sense of jealousy he gets from Jamie, "Lead on!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The faint window for self -extraction from this situation had closed. Dastari was about to pump him full of still yet another chemical, even though the first three or four had done nothing but make him sick. He's trying still to convince the man that this is madness. He jerks his arm as much as possible as the injector moves again into place. "I'm afraid I'm unable to give you a full anaesthetic," his former friend tells him.

He swallows and shoots the man a fierce look, "Doing the job on the cheap, are you? You know you're running out of options that will do what you think you need them to do. I'm liable to just vomit all over you again."

Dastari pauses as he thinks about the chemical in the needle, "Why are you fighting me? You'll have to be conscious while the neuron bombardment excites your brain cells so I will then be able to examine them."

"You should be examining your own brain cells, Dastari! Most of them must have leaked out your ears or you wouldn't be involved in this madness!"

Whatever doubts he might have had seem to fade from his eyes and Dastari says, "This injection will simply inhibit the Motor Circuits. It should keep you from willfully having a gag reflex. Problem solved." He pushes the injector into the exposed skin on the Doctor's arm causing the bound man to groan from the sudden wave of nausea.

Stike barks out, "Get on with it, Dastari, you delay my war effort!"

He's moaning still but very aware, mentally fleeing again into the smaller forming brain of his son, trying desperately to protect the child from the onslaught of the drugs that might kill him. Dastari's voice echoes in his ears, "If you want this operation to succeed, Group Marshall, you will allow me to proceed as I decide and at the pace I consider appropriate." He then addresses the patient, "Count backwards from ten, Doctor."

He can't even shake his head. '_Bugger off_!' he thinks, mentally pulling up as many derogatory images to toss at the somewhat psychic woman in the room as he can manage. "No... Ya expect me to 'elp you?"somehow makes it's way through his lips. He's not even sure of the language he speaks in. This forces Dastari and Chessene to use other methods to detect brain activity. And of course it's off the chart. He's still pulling on the Vortex for power, computing massive strands of block-transfer equations, and actively shielding the tiny life inside him. None of this brain activity will give them what they seek, however. He's forced his link to his TARDIS way to the back of his mind and put the rogue bond with Jamie over the top of it, so that it is good and blocked. He refuses to actively assist in his own murder. They are going to piss him off really good and he's going to give them a what for, so that they all know exactly how much power a Time Lord has, if they don't stop this nonsense.

"The next step is partially to detach the occipital bones," Dastari says to his audience. The psychic wave from the figure on the table scares him a bit. He's never encountered anyone with as much mental power. Without the skull there to hold it in would it flash like an atomic bomb and destroy everything around it? He blinks and forces the silly notion out of his head. He carefully picks up the required tool and moves back to the dark headed man. He's going to do this, just think of all the things he can learn... He shifts the head for better access to the proper area.

"Hello?" comes a female voice from above.

Chessene waves Dastari back, "Wait!"

"Is anyone there?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie felt more than a bit nervous. He was facing the prospect of being alone with this other Doctor, this different Thete. But his was near, he could feel the tug of their connection and could only wonder why it didn't translate to this older form. What might have happened to it? Anita, bless her brave soul offers to come with them. The Doctor shakes his head and tells her, "No, you've done quite enough already, bringing us here, Anita. I want you to collect Oscar and get off the estate as quick as possible." He offers her a final handshake in thanks and she not only takes it but kisses his cheek too. Jamie blinks at the flare of jealousy over the contact and brushes it away. This is not his Doctor. He bids her goodbye before turning to follow the blond bloke into the icehouse. He opens the trap door and discovers the fellow is already heading down the ladder, chattering as he goes, that at least, hasn't changed much, "Mind how you go, Jamie. This ladder seems a- WHOAH!"

Why the heavier fellow would insist on going first, the Scot has no idea. Perhaps it's a sense of needing to protect him because he's – what? Out of his time, crossed lines, younger? -- Jamie sighs, "'A wee bit rickety'. Is that what you were goin' to say, Doctor?" He looks down at the fellow who is picking himself up off the ground. Jamie sways as something in his head shifts. The fellow below him seems to make the same sort of movement. Then he motions for the lad to hurry down. Time is of the essence here. The Scot manages to make it down without falling, and they silently move into the cellar proper. The Doctor spots his younger self being moved into an old fashioned wheelchair and jerks Jamie back behind a pillar. Then spotting the correct time to move without being seen they carefully make their way to a more secure hiding spot. The two men with the seemingly unconscious little dark haired fellow wheel him toward the stairs. Once they have gotten him out of the cellar Jamie whispers, "We're not goin' after 'em?" he wants to, so very badly. The connection he has to the Doctor is thrumming something powerful and he needs to touch his Thete.

The Doctor with him glances at the tense form and puts a firm grip on Jamie's arm, "We'll have a good look 'round here, first." The piper sputters at him, protesting. He knows how badly the lad is hurting. He remembers how hard it was to endure long periods apart. Not thinking about the potential side-effects he catches Jamie by the chin and kisses him, "One of them's an Androgum, Jamie! He could break us both in half with one hand." The sparks that race into him are almost painful, but something breaks in the lad and it's clear that at last he believes that this strange fellow really is a future version of the man he loves. He licks his lips and blinks. The Doctor lets go of him. "I'm going to do everything possible to get you back to the version of me you need, OK. Please -- Trust me?"

His hearts are pounding in his chest and it hurts so much to let the boy go. But he's got bigger problems right now, and he can't afford to muck this up. Above him he hears Peri chatting still to the female Androgum asking typical survey questions. All he can do is hope and pray that she doesn't give them away somehow. He hears the sound of the chair as it creaks across the floor and the way Peri pauses in the rhythm of her speech. He pushes it away, turning to focus on the primitive Time Travel device. It draws him over and a plan forms. It might work... just might. Above him he hears Peri take off in a run and the Androgum male chase after her. That might be a problem. But his attention drifts back to the Kartz-Reimer module and he moves in for a closer look. Pulling out a small circuit he exclaims, "They got it almost exactly right!" Jamie frowns. He ignores the pointed look he's getting. Oh the trap is going to be just perfect. He glances at the outside controls, "Even down to the Briode Nebulizer, look!"

Jamie is not nearly as simple as he acts sometimes, and the Doctor hopes the boy will play along with him here. When he asks, "Well, what is it?" he knows that the lad realizes they are being listened too and is willing to help him out here.

"The Kartz-Reimer version of a TARDIS."

Jamie eyes the thing over again, "A TARDIS? Will it work?" he closes the door.

"Mm. It will if I use it, or any other Time Lord. Not for anyone else," the Doctor says. He excludes the fact that his time ship is much smarter than this cheap knock off and is able to grant what this one cannot. Fact is, Jamie, Peri, or any of his other companions could use this, although it would be a one-way trip and really there's no point...

"Why not?" the piper says, helping him even further. Oh he remembers now why he loves Jamie so much...

"The machine has to be primed, by what we call the Rassilon Imprimatur, that's a kind of symbiotic print on the physiology of a Time Lord. Once that's been absorbed into the Briode Nebulizer you have a time machine that _anyone_ can use!" He manages just the right amount of smugness to make it seem genuine, "That, of course, was what _they _didn't understand. They simply copied the technology, without realizing that Old Rassilon had a second trick up his sleeve."

Fortunately it's about that time that Stike reveals himself, "A most interesting lecture, Time Lord." He's not alone, and really the new plan is far more likely to work if, and only if they get caught. So when one of the neckless fellows raises his gun neither the Doctor, nor Jamie put up a fuss. "Varl! Inform Chessene that we have another Time Lord for her collection."

"Very good, sir." the other fellow heads on his way, leaving them with Stike, who introduces himself.

The Doctor raises an eyebrow, "Long way from the war, aren't you, Stike? Going badly, is it?"

"On the contrary. And thanks to the information you've just given me, I shall be back in time for the crucial battle."

As far as he's concerned it won't change much. They've tried getting Time Travel before, after all, "My money's still on the Rutans." Angered by this, the fellow orders the Doctor into the primitive device. "Why? Oh, of course." even once he gets it, and is perfectly happy to play along, he must make it seem as though he's not, "You don't really expect me to give the Sontarans the power of unlimited time travel, do you?"

Stike threatens Jamie, nearly strangling him, "Do it, or your comrade dies." Of course he can't let that happen because if Jamie dies right now then his younger self will die and then he'll die... the shock of the situation makes his pause all too real. "Into the machine, Time Lord! Get in!" He locks eyes on Jamie and backs into the module, closing the door. The alien uses his gun to program the tiny buttons keeping a grip on the struggling human as he steps back and sends the thing away. It doesn't sound like a TARDIS. It does however disappear and reappear.

The Doctor calmly steps out, safe and sound, "Satisfied?"

"So, the machine is now primed," Stike asks. The Doctor confirms that it is, even though it's not really. The Sontaran then says, "Excellent. I shall now execute your comrade."

Jamie knows the panic the Doctor reveals here is totally honest, "Wait! Now, that's why you Sontarans have no allies!" The distraction means that he can reach the dirk easily. He gets a good hold on it and waits for the perfect moment. The blond Doctor pitches a right fit, "You can't be trusted!"

"We have no need of allies! Sontaran might is invincible!"

The piper however has other ideas on that. He sinks the dirk into the alien's leg to the hilt and then gives it an extra twist. The Doctor leaps into the fray, tugging Jamie away from Stike and pushing him off balance into the wall. "Run, Jamie!" Unlike his younger self , he has no intention of getting caught by these dimwits. He follows the flee footed Scot with a speed that his girth might not reveal him capable of. Behind them the laser goes off wildly, but the injured Stike does not, or can not, actually follow. Jamie burst out of the cellar into the courtyard with the blond Doctor on his heels. Looking for cover, and following the pull of the bond, Jamie leads them both to the chapel where the his Thete is still trying to work the drug from his system.

"Doctor!" the Scot hurries over to the wheelchair bound dark-haired little man.

"Jamie!"He does not even think to consider the feelings of the blond version of said Time Lord who ends up doubling back to locate them, swooping down and kissing his Thete, passionately. Since the Doctor in the chair cannot move much more than his neck and face at this particular moment and needs the contact just as badly as the piper does he can't object. Jamie remembers the other version after really too long of a time and pulls away, resting his forehead against the dark fringe of his bonded. The Doctor he's still touching murmurs, "There you are, Jamie..."

The other Doctor clears his throat and turns slightly, more to hide his reaction than anything else. After a moment Jamie straightens and puts a firm hand on his Thete's shoulder. Sensing that the situation is perhaps under some control now the blond turns and glares at his younger self. They lock gazes as he marches over. He puts his hands on his hips and sends a mental scolding that would turn most Time Lords into terrified seven-year-olds, '_How dare you! You must tell him. You have to. You can't keep this secret. It might change everything if he knows. Might alter so much. It could be great, you stubborn fool!_' He stalks through the room, gaining on them with an intense haughty frown, '_I can't believe you put yourself in this much danger, you reckless imbecile. This is our lives you're playing with. And Jamie's, and – and your son's_!' Finally he breaks the locked gaze because he's going to cry or reveal too much and then – everything is going to fall apart.

He's somewhat shocked when the other version of him blasts into his mind more powerfully than he could have ever imagined, '_My choice, you hypocritical twit. Bad enough that someone else besides us knows. Please tell me they didn't get a scan of you_.'

Putting a hand on the chair, he closes his eyes, '_No. No scan. What they think they have and what they do have are two totally different things. What have you done?' _

_'Biological Temporal freeze. But you should remember that.' _The two of them both say, "Snap!" then look at each other.

The blond leans over, levels an accusing finger, and says, "I've come a long way for you!"

The dark headed version rolls his eyes, "Naturally. Don't expect any thanks." Jamie kneels down and starts working on the ties, intending on carrying the Doctor out of here. The blond version watches for a second and starts to help when there's a noise from beyond the chapel door. They freeze then come to a joint wordless decision to see what made the sound. Jamie wheels the chair out into the hall beyond. Someone is coming that way.

"The kitchen! Come over here!" the blond Doctor says. But the sounds of Shockeye grunting put a halt to that idea.

"Too late!" Jamie says.

The blond casts about for another way, "Upstairs!" but then he can't take the chair bound version there. The younger version can act though, "Extemporize!" while he and Jamie take off up the stairs the chair bound Doctor glowers then effectively plays 'dead'

Shockeye enters with Peri over his shoulder, "Wake up, old Time Lord. Supper will soon be served! Haha!"

As if he's not vomited enough today... but the fellow does not pause, carrying the girl off into the kitchen. He struggles with the nausea and just has it under control again when Chessene and Dastari come into the hall as well, "Now that the Time Lords have located us, Dastari, we must move quickly."

The scientist takes his pulse, although really his knowledge of the species is less then it should be. "The operation cannot be hurried, Chessene."

She nods, "I'm aware of it." the woman paces around the chair as she considers the options and settles on a new goal. A new way to get the genetic material they need... " ...but I have a contingency plan. It's been in my mind for some time."

Dastari seems taken aback, "What contingency plan?"

She gives him a smile worthy of a black widow, "I want you to turn this Time Lord into an Androgum. You could do that, I know. I want you to make a consort for me... leave him the power of time travel, leave the symbiotic nuclei within him, but turn him into an Androgum, by blood and by instinct. How long would that take?"

"Well, if I had the genetic material..."

Chessene flirts a bit, "Take it from Shockeye."

This causes Dastari to blink rapidly, "Shockeye?" She nods. He's of good prime stock, after all. "Shockeye... yes. Two simple operations. The first to implant the genetic material, and then a second operation to stabilize his condition. Won't take long at all."

Jamie feels the sense of horror through his connection to his Doctor. What exactly does this mean? How can they stop it? The woman purrs, "Good. Then that is what we shall do." The flare of jealousy that burns in his chest requires the other, Peri's Doctor, to grip him and nearly hold him down. He's not going to lose his Thete, not now. He'll kill this female before she ever touches him, changed genes or no. The chair is wheeled away, back to the cellar. Jamie tries to jump up after it.

The blond Doctor catches him and pins him to the corner, putting his hands on the lad's head and flattening his hair to his scalp."Listen to me. Listen!" he hisses. The piper struggles, but is effectively wedged between the larger Doctor and the rail he is kneeling behind. His blows weaken, even though he really wasn't trying to hurt, more just to push the other man away. "Jamie. There is no way that Chessene can ever get him to do what is necessary to get her pregnant. Do you understand? It's just not possible. No matter what genes they try to splice, he'll still be bound to you. Are you listening to me?" He drops his hands from the Scot's head to his shoulders and gives him a shake. "Jamie." The blue-green eyes finally come up to match his, "No matter what genes they splice, he'll still be a Time Lord. Rassilon designed us that way. There's a Temporal-psychic element that these primitives can't even begin to see." He taps Jamie's forehead with a thumb. "He's yours, no one can ever change that. You must trust me. Please."

Jamie puts his hands on Peri's Doctor's elbows and takes in a shuttering breath, "Why canna I feel you? Is it here and now that I lose him? Is that why you're here?"

"What? _No_." He blinks back the emotion that is just so strong and powerful that he can't name it, although it hurts, so very much. "Jamie you won't lose him. I promise. I'm Five. Hundred. Years past you. For me, you're ... like – seeing a ghost. That's why you don't feel me, because so much time has passed." he searches the lad's eyes and realizes that Jamie doesn't believe him. "Bollocks..." He sits back. "I can't tell you what happens. How it goes. How much time you have. I can't. There've been trust issues, haven't there? But Jamie, I _loved_ you. And you're the one with the power here. If you want to change things then you have to take control of it. Make him _tell_ you. Make him tell you _everything_. Push for _no_ secrets." With that he gets up. He needs to rescue Peri.

Fortunately, Shockeye has been called away from his companion by the time he makes it down the stairs and into the room where she's spread out on the kitchen table. Thankfully the vile creature that had her has not gotten around to 'preparing' the meat. He looks around for some way to wake her and settles on a pitcher of water over her head. That causes her to regain consciousness with a start, "Ugh!"

"Peri!" He put the pitcher down glances over to see Jamie hovering like a lookout in the doorway and then clears the space between himself and her as she sits up, "Can you stand?"

"Ugh, my head. What happened?"

He pulls her into a quick hug then off the table, not quite letting go of her, "Can you stand?"

Peri glances up at him and notices the faint signs of his nearly crying, "I... think so."

Jamie gives them the 'all clear' and he pushes her forward, even though she wasn't actually sure she could stand, much less walk, "Come on, then! Let's get out of here." Somehow she manages to go from dizzy and not standing to running. Then again, the Doctor has her fairly conditioned to such things. They get into the trees near the back gate before the Doctor signals them to stop. The Scot doesn't quite. He stays with them, true enough, but he paces, frantically. She looks from his distressed air to her Doctor's upset and overly quiet one. What has happened?

"What now? They've still got _my_ Doctor," the piper spits out.

"I'd have thought Stike would have acted by now," her Doctor mumbles. He turns and catches Jamie, "Remember what I told you? Still yours, no matter what they do. Plus there's a chance to reverse the process, if we catch it just right."The piper grips the blond's arm, hard. Hard enough to bruise. The Time Lord just puts a hand over the piper's.

"What? What?" Peri pushes into the conversation suddenly needing to know what is going on.

Jamie looks from his locked gaze to her, "They're turning my Doctor into an _Androgum_!"

"And I've given Stike a functioning time machine. I expect he'd kill both Chessene and Dastari before he leaves so _why_ isn't my plan working?"

Peri is still lost, "Your plan?"

Jamie frowns, "The machine worked. I saw it!"

"I said what I did, because I heard Stike and Varl coming up on us. Not all of it was strictly true, but he believed it because _I _was talking to _you. _The machine worked for _me. _But it won't work for him. Because...I have..." and with that he produces the circuit lifted from the controls, " ...the Briode Nebulizer." Jamie's grip finally relaxes. The Doctor grins at them both.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He didn't want this. Rassilon knew, he didn't want this. Because he didn't want it he was completely alert and vocally against it even before they got him down the stairs, "No! You know what this precious pair have cooked up for you, don't you Shockeye?" He's told to be quiet, not that he listens, "No! I don't wanna be turned into an Androgum!"

Of course, neither he nor his soon to be brother are given much choice. Chessene shoots Shockeye and he collapses onto the next table over, realizing what exactly the plan is, "Ah! Chessene!"

They are banded down with strips that would hold a cyberman while the genetic sample is taken, processed and administered . Dastari tells Chessene, "I've given the Time Lord a 50% Androgum Inheritance. Within an hour it will become the dominant factor. I can then stabilize his cell structure."

She declares, "Before then we must deal with the Sontarans." Using Choronic acid, and then she further states that she planned this quite a ways back, "I took the precaution of having three canisters prepared before we left the station...just in case." Dastari knows she can't carry out the plan alone and that Shockeye won't help her until her new consort orders him to. Hopefully the pair will remain oblivious to the world for at least the hour he needs to pass before he can stabilize the process. He follows her out.

Shockeye however was angered and that altered his biochemistry just enough to allow him to throw off the drugs. Then finding that he's still strapped down he becomes even more angered. He rips his way free, chest and feet. He's wanting to rip the house apart. Why? "Chessene... she betrayed me." He's going to kill the precious Time Lord and eat his liver! "You have fouled the blood of the Quawncing Grig!"He stalks about before realizing that the other being in the room is – the same blood. Confused, he tugs the sheet away and stares at the being that was the Time Lord. Should he kill the challenger?

"_Capitanes_ in brandy sauce." The other Androgum grins at him, "The stuffing of black pudding made of live pig's blood, herbs, and pepper! The breasts of the birds should be slit and studied with truffles."

This changes everything... "You know the cuisine of this planet?"

"Of course I do! I have eaten pressed duck _tu dajourn_, dafidoliam corn food, made from rashes they're exquisite, Shockeye..." he pauses, thinking about everything and nothing. Why expend so much energy? Why – He's very hungry. "Why am I thinking of food?"

This is wonderful, "Because you are now an Androgum! Can you lead me to one of these eating places, to sample the local dishes?"

"Of course I can, but you will need proper clothes! A collar! A neck tie, at least."

Shockeye knows a better way to get his revenge... "I know where there are clothes..." He helps the new one to his feet leads him up the stairs and they prepare for a little trip... They don't really care about the crossings and double crossings going on outside. They don't care much about any of it, Time Travel or no. The Doctor only knows he must eat, and he must drink, and then he must sleep... and his body demands it because of the stresses he's placed it under as of late. So even though much of him rebels against this, the dominant part concurs with the Androgum side. It won't reveal why, only that he must do this if he wants to live.

He's happy to follow the newly garbed fellow out the back gate, to take his arm and treat him like a brother. It's the fastest way to get the food he needs. He'll keep the fellow interested, in spite the strange clothes, "Mild pate, I think, Shockeye, followed by a _bisque de creibon_, hmm?" Shockeye bobs his head in agreement. He's only faintly aware that his older self is following him. That's fine. He still needs the food, desperately.

"Tell me, on this planet do they ever eat their own?"

The Doctor is surprised that the idea doesn't sent him a wave of nausea. He thinks a bit, "I believe in the Far Indies it has been known... but I remember a dish... 'shepherd's pie'"

"'Shepherd's pie'? A shepherd? Can't we walk quicker?" He finds that the knowledgeable little fellow can indeed walk quicker, perhaps even faster than he can. The soon reach a road that is more finished than the last. He means to walk down it.

The Doctor pulls him to a stop, having a better idea and better ears, "Wait! There's a machine coming!" He flags down the truck, barely winces when Shockeye wallops the human driver, urges Shockeye in to the passenger seat and proclaims, "We shall be in Seville in five minutes!"

Once there they ditch the truck and set to the eatery on foot, debating the finer points of healthy gourmet banquets. Finally he tells Shockeye, "_A__u d'erve, _my dearest brother, on this planet it is the custom. All the greatest chefs agree, Carema, Bria Samaranch, the noblest Scorpie, they all agree that a meal should begin with a light dish, something to bring _relish_ to the appetite. _Pate du frau'dar_ _deStrasburg _on raw food, for instance, or a serving of _beylon_ oysters." his fellow moans in delight and he keeps right on talking, "Even a, even a light salad with... artichoke hearts and country ham will suffice, it gets the _digestive juices flowing_!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jamie has watched everything that has happened. He's rather upset by it all, considering he still feels his connection to what is now less than his Doctor. The behavior is worse than with the Daleks. Only this time he knows in his heart that his Thete does not want to be this way but can't help himself. He'll run to the end of the earth to help him. Finding that he's slipping away spurs him on to run even faster. All the way to Seville. Once there they find the truck easy enough. They must be near. But where? The blond Doctor points out a direction. Jamie thinks he's another way but follows along anyway. Of course had Jamie just turned around and looked he might have realized that his Doctor was just a square away, heading to a very famous establishment

Peri's Doctor is making less and less sense too. By the time they spot Chessene searching restaurants it's almost too late, as he's starting to go after anything that has meat on it, even if it's still alive. For the longest time they just miss each other, like two pendulums on opposite measures. Going by the clothes the pair left the house in they should check all the fancy places. In the end it is Peri that points the location out, based on not spotting them, but the strange idea that because her Doctor heard the name of the place that perhaps Jamie's Doctor would think to eat there. Tragically, she's right.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He's tried to keep this invasion of his body limited to his dominant circulatory system. His brain, his appearance, his behavior. The Temporal freeze helps a little, to fight off the virus. It's a fast sweeping infection, but once it crests it will be easily defeated. As long as it remains within the main dominant areas of his primary heart and circulatory system. There's a reason he must fight this, inside. He knows that there is, but can't remember quite what that reason is at the moment. It hardly matters, only that he fight it. So he allows his body to war with it, isolating it, containing it as only a -Royal?- Lordly - body can do. But the fight requires energy. And the body needs food, nutrients, minerals, calories...

He takes his _brother_ with him into Las Cadenas. The young fellow serving them is perfectly composed. He places some bits of moneys on the table, taken from where the clothes came from, after allowing himself to be seated. After some banter that he ignores he tells the waiter what they will start with: lobsters, clams, and squid, brains in white sauce, two cold suckling pigs, a ham with peas, eight steaks, and an entire family _paella. _This they will follow with wine, a dozen breasts of pigeons, and several other dishes off the menu. He makes sure the _pesetas _he's brought will cover at least his half. There's no problem with him eating his portion. The first time the server comes by for payment he shoves the notes at him and waves him away. Shockeye continues to eat, but he's starting to feel drowsy now, as the viral agent is working out of his system finally. Some small part of him worries that he's not done enough to protect his babe, right before he breaks out into a sweat to flush out the alcohol and falls into a stupor at the table. He is far too gone to even remotely protest the violence that results in the poor server's death, even as he knows it happens and is powerless to stop it.

His older self rouses him moments later, "Can you walk?"

He opens his eyes, "Of course I can walk!" It's a mistake, on his part. The clown-like garb threatens to make his stomach rebel. He pushes the blond back and braces himself on the table. The older version settles hands on him again, pressing into the proper points on his body to force the nausea away.

"Well, come on, then!" says the other, as he is dragged to his feet. The larger man groans with effort, "Come on!" However, he might stumble out, crawl out even, but he's not walking out without considerable help. The blond version loops an arm around him and hauls him out of the restaurant, babbling as they go, "I am a police officer, sir, follow me. Anything you do say-" The only saving grace to this is that Jamie is there and he's thrown off the genetic splicing. The fellow's internal monologue and tongue-lashing drives into him more than being hauled, dizzily, into the streets when he needs to rest. He's going to be sick again, and when he does... The blond catches him with the pressure points again just in time and thinks, '_Oh, no... Don't you dare. You can't afford to lose what you just ate with all the energy you are expending. You are pregnant after all -- _'

The first thing he gets back is his temper and it's a whopper of one. How dare he chide him on this. It's his choice, his life, his. Damn it. He pulls away and shouts in fury, "What is this? Who do you think you _are_?" Jamie and Peri hurry to catch up as the blond and dark headed Doctors really set into each other.

"Now you come along with me!" the blond grips his arm again tightly, pelting him with a flow of mental argument he cannot block.

"How dare you?!" he rages, "Let go of me!" He resorts to a jolt of remembered intense sensation that causes the other man to jerk his hands off his body with a shutter and a glare. He's the more powerful, mentally, and drives home this fact with punishing vividness.

They glare at each other, mentally carrying on a row that would shock most of their kind with its violence and coming to the conclusion to agree to disagree, then point opposite directions before both saying, "This way!"

The blond points at the dark haired one, "Now, look, _you_ got me into this mess!"

Before Jamie's Doctor can say anything Peri steps between them, "Will you two _please_ stop squabbling?" They both look at her. She sighs. Then points at a third direction, "We'll go this way." Peri and Jamie both head off down the side street. The two Doctors glare some more, the older silently commanding the younger to stop being so stubborn and just tell Jamie what the lad should know already before they both follow their companions.

They don't get far before Chessene's voice brings all four to a halt, "No. You'll come this way. We have some unfinished business to attend to." She levels her gun at them The smaller Doctor, having every reason to fear, puts his hands up and the other three with him soon do to. They are taken back to the house in a horse drawn buggy. Amazingly the horse has not been eaten, although Shockeye will gladly fix that. By the time they return it's clear that someone has beat them back, as the reception hall has been torn apart. Chessene calls out, "Shockeye?"

He answers from the kitchen, "Yes?" appearing moments later covered in an green stained butcher's frock carrying – something.

"What has happened here?" the female Androgum inquires of him as she indicates the devastation.

Shockeye glances about, shrugs, and then says, "It seems that Group Marshall Stike... I found this." He holds up the item which turns out to be a leg, "Um -- vaporised his spaceship... and himself, after – looking for you?"

Dastari frowns, "So he survived the Coronic acid?"

"Obviously," Chessene says. After a moment she realizes that Shockeye is not going to stab her in the back because the challenging male is no longer a threat and she hands him her gun, in effect re-elevating him to the position of consort once more. Delighted with that he brandishes it at the prisoners, leering at the dark headed Doctor as though he's won. She gives him a moment to gloat before commanding, "Down to the cellars. You know the way, I think." Everyone files down the stairs. Once down there she instructs Shockeye to keep the prisoners guarded. She moves to the Kartz-Reimer Module and peers at it, "The control box has been moved...is it damaged?"

This draws Dastari over, "The Briode Nebuliser: it's gone."

The blond Time Lord steps forward, in front of the others and produces the chip from his waistcoat pocket, "You mean this?" He's all innocence. The chip is worthless, really. The pod will work but only for those who have crossed into the vortex in a true TARDIS.

Chessene whorls on him, "Why did you remove it?"

He smugly answers, "Because it contains my Symbiotic print." which is what they've been after, in their round about way.

She snatches it from his hand, not paying attention to the scrape of his nails across the delicate circuit. He hands it to Dastari, "Return this to the machine."

Instead he raises an eyebrow, "How did your Time Lord print get onto this?"

The blond rolls his eyes, "Instead of doing it the hard, long, painful way... Stike forced me to prime and use the machine." Chastened, Dastari puts the missing chip back into the control box. He feels like a total fool.

"There is a simple way to see if you are still trying to deceive us," Chessene warns. The blond Time Lord merely raises an eyebrow at her, haughtily. She glances at Dastari who silently agrees with her course of action. She crosses the room, grabs Peri, and drags her back to the pod, "Come, girl." While the Doctor (the dark-headed fellow) and his young jack both attempt to protect her, the prideful Time Lord (the blond) prevents them from stopping her. She frowns then pushes the human into the open pod. Peri looks out to her Doctor rather worried, but he gives her a nod, like he's saying everything is fine and she somehow manages to not freak out when the door is closed. Both Chessene and Dastari step back from the module. She glares at the three others, "Now we shall see."

"Kartz and Reimer performed many experiments like this. The subject always vapourised into the time stream."

"Peri won't. And she hasn't any Symbiotic Nuclei, I can assure you." As Dastari sends the pod into the Vortex then pulls it back out, revealing a perfectly unharmed Peri in the process, the blond Time Lord says happily, "You see? " They send her away again and bring her back, still unharmed, although she's clearly worried. Chessene opens the door, orders Peri out and runs a scan of her, coming up that she perfectly normal, and perfectly healthy. "Satisfied?" the blond Time Lord asks her.

She pushes Peri back into the group, "Dastari, chain these creatures up."

"Chain us up? After I've handed you the secret of time travel on a plate?! Come on, Chessene! Where's your gratitude?" The blond one yells as they are pushed further into the dungeons.

There's not much they can do as Dastari forces Peri to chain up the two male Time Lords. She's just following the order to chain Jamie when Shockeye marches in and grabs him, "Been promised a human since before we reached here. Been wanting your flesh since I first set eyes on you." Jamie struggles, crying out in pain, but the alien is far too strong. "Chessene's agreed. You'd make a fine feast." the Scot fights for all he's worth still being dragged away, "Ah, steady my beauty! Haha! Ho, there's some meat on this one, Chessene!"

Peri wants to rush to help, and the smaller Doctor seems very upset, "Jamie!" But Dastari forces her back into her own set of shackles, locking her into place while keeping his gun leveled on her. He then shows them the keys, gives the Doctor a significant expression over the top of the weapon and then stalks away. The dark headed one shouts, "You might at least say goodbye!" After a moment he says, "You're almost as clever as I am. I'm assuming you sabotaged the Briode Nebuliser?"

"Didn't need to, it won't work. I lied," the blond says. "Not now, Peri. I'll explain later."

She sputters with questions of how the device could work for her, if the pieces didn't work, but the smaller Doctor cuts her off, "Not _now_, child. We've got to get Jamie out of that butcher's hands!"

Both of the Doctors come up with a plan at the same moment, "Can you reach that wheelchair?"

"I'm not elastic!" she is so angered by these two... just so. Grr.

Jamie's Doctor sighs. "I see. I was wrong. You are not a child, Peri. You are a skillful young woman – Who happens to just be tall enough to reach that wheelchair with your feet, if you try." She looks over at him, blinking. Her Doctor would _never_ admit to being wrong about _anything_. He manages a smile at her, looking oddly green about the gills, but rather glowing with possibility. She glanced back at the chair. Yes maybe she could reach it. If she tried. She slowly stretched out and then extended a leg, just able to catch the lower wooden rung with the ball of her foot. Taking a breath she pulls it closer, balances on it, and hooks the same rung with the heel of her other foot. Not thinking about how wrong it might go, she pulls the chair over and carefully untangles herself from it.

"Good girl!" says her Doctor, lavish with praise, if nothing else.

"What's the idea, Doctor?" Peri asks.

It's Jamie's version that answers, "Push it over towards him," He indicates her Doctor.

Confused she says, "Why? He's not going anywhere!"

"Peri, dear... Trust us, em?" She pushes the chair over, feeling her Doctor help her with it. They both make noise of encouragement until the chair is safely in her Doctor's control and he's gotten it positioned just right. He's got it lined up with the table and the keys she notes. He looks at his younger self, "What do you think?"

"Might work. It's worth a try," the darker headed one agrees. All Peri can do is watch as her Doctor, who is the tallest of them, carefully works the wheelchair under the edge of the table. Once he's gotten it there he positions both feet just so, pauses a moment, and gives the chair a flipping motion worthy of a master skateboarder. The chair takes the table with it and flings the keys to the floor within reach of his feet. He steps on ring and drags it over, pushing the keys under his body until he can get his hands on them. In short order he's quite free. He turns to unlock his younger self when a scream from above filters down to them. The other man winces, then shouts, "Oh, never mind me! That's Jamie! Help him!" The blond starts for door. "The keys!" the younger version says like he's lashing the skin off the other man's back. Peri's Doctor turns and slides them across the floor into the younger version's reach before dashing out. Hearing something, the remaining Doctor pauses and stuffs the keys into a pocket before Chessene steps into view and looks at he and Peri. "He took off." She stomps away. The dark haired Time Lord closes his eyes.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He's never felt such pain... not physical pain anyhow. He feels like his muscles and skin and tissues are being scrambled. When he struggles the pain is even worse. He's being tortured to death, one limb at a time, painstakingly slowly. There's this horrible whirring sound, under his screams, as his muscles are vibrated apart, turning him into ground flesh, around bone, just under his skin. It's agony unlike anything he could have ever imagined.

And he knows his Thete can feel it all.

Jamie's of a mixed mind about this, part of him feels so guilty and wants to close off the pain, to save his Thete from it. And part of him wants the Doctor to feel this, to hurt too, because – even now on the brink of death he knows the infuriating alien is keeping secrets from him. It's his anger that protects his psyche from the agony his body is flooded with, his anger that drives him toward the bond in his mind. His anger that builds into possessive madness that he's only felt twice before. He wants to shout and scream and claim what is his.

He reaches the white tense line in his mind, the plane that connects him to Thete, clutching at it with all his might. He's dying... fading from shock and broken blood vessels, all the advanced information that his Thete's taught him while he learned to read Galliferyan flashing past him. He knows he's dying.

The pain pauses. Fearful that it means the end is even nearer than when he pain was constant, the piper falls even deeper into the bond, '_Don't you love me? Can't you save me? Am I not worth that?_' His answer is a golden light, sparkles that remind him of the TARDIS, and the Doctor's blood, and Time itself, when he sometimes catches a glimpse of it. He can feel Thete slide against his soul, guiding the energy. Something pops in his memory.... A white room, horrible violence, pain and fear, him ripping off clothing and forcing himself - he knows what rape is, and this thing he's _remembering_ is that... and he's the one guilty of it.

Even so, his Thete pours power into him, carefully undoing the damage he's been subjected to, rolling back his personal time to before Shockeye got his hands on him. Jamie realizes something... not all of his Thete's secrets might be things he wants to know. The depth of the current connection however means he sees things about Thete's past, his childhood, his schooling, difficult and painful things, things he never dreamed his Thete had to endure. By the time the healing is done Jamie is mentally struggling to get away from the taunts of '_Wormhole_' and the endless rote of mindless regurgitation. He finds the treatment appalling, more so than his own piper's training was. He's struggling to push away the press of minds and the constant feeling of needing to prevent anyone else from getting too close lest they betray him. He fully understands now why Thete fled from the nearly dead 'hallowed' halls of his people because he cannot stand the crush of disapproval that shadows everything he remembers of that place.

Then Thete pulls away, and Jamie realizes one further thing... There's still a single secret being hidden from him. After all he's seen, does he really want to know?

He fights his way back to consciousness. The first thing he notices is that his limbs are stiff and tender, even though the horrible damage has been healed. He moans softly. The second thing he notices is the smell of blood. The Doctor's blood. Blood he remembers the taste of, rather more vividly than he'd like at the moment. If these foul creatures have hurt the Doctor, either of them, he'll be very angry.

He raises his head, realizes that his bonds but for a single hand have been cut, snags a knife from nearby and finishes freeing himself. "Right. I'll have that Shockeye, so will." but first he's going to get his Thete out of here. He heads down the cellar stairs, completely hyper-aware. He's seemingly able to smell and see and feel more than he used to, but his mind is also able to make sense of it, so he accepts this, and carefully makes his way to the bottom of the steps. There's a creak above him and he tucks himself into the shadows as Chessene dashes down the stairs. Ahead of him the Doctor and Dastari seem to be talking rather friendly-like. Perhaps that is a sign that the madness here is nearly spent. As Chessene demands to know why the Doctor and Peri are still alive, he silently moves into a position to help take her down.

Her words mark her as mad, "I set myself among the gods! And now I shall liberate my people! With me as their leader they shall reign over all other beings." With that she shoots Dastari. He can hear sounds of the Doctor trying to get Peri to some sort of cover. Just as Chessene shouts "Stop!"and goes to fire Jamie throws the knife he's carried down from the kitchens. It hits her gun and cuts right through it. No longer thinking clearly, Chessene dashes into the pod, turns it on, and tries to use it.

Jamie steps out and then motions to his Thete and Peri who both carefully come over to him. It's perfectly clear that the module is not working correctly. After a moment it has a terrible internal explosion and Chessene flings her burning body out the door, shrieking like a banshee. She topples to the floor, rapidly degenerating into her natural form then disintegrating. "Molecular disintegration," Thete says, "Horrible."

Peri sighs, "So... that's it then."

"Aye..." Jamie slightly relaxes before remembering, "Except for that Shockeye!"

Behind them the blond Doctor says, "He's been, er, 'moth-balled'." He then limps up to the rest of them, "My word. That's a mess! Take you a while to put THAT back together again!"

"That will NOT be necessary," says Jamie's Doctor, as he pulls out the disk from his coat, grinning smugly.

The blond blinks, rather stunned, "A Stattenheim remote control?!" Quickly coming back to himself he tries to snatch the thing away. The smaller Doctor merely moves it out of his older self's reach. Peri's Doctor puts his hands on his hips, "Where did you get that? I've ALWAYS wanted one of those!"

He is not going to mention that it's a borrow or that he's got to give it back, of course, "Some of us have, er, these little privileges." With that he makes a sharp distinctive whistle and his TARDIS appears in the nearest clear area. He moves over to it and unlocks the door, "Jamie!"

They've still got some issues to work out, "Ah, after you, Doctor."

Definite issues... "No. After you, Jamie." Jamie says his goodbyes, kissing Peri and getting a welcome wash of jealousy before he steps into the TARDIS. She greets him warmly and he notices, right away, how much this younger version is hurting, having met the older one and traveled within it. Behind him his Thete says to Peri's Doctor, "Do try and keep out of my way in future _and_ in past, there's a good fellow. The time continuum should be big enough for the both of us. Just."

There's the odd rustle in the back of his mind that sounds an awful lot like an intense conversation going on in native Gallifeyan. Of it he catches one thing: '_You must tell him._' He hears the blond say, "You know, I think I preferred you as an Androgum!" as his Doctor closes the door. Jamie watches Thete at the controls, knowing that before they pick up Victoria they must return the remote. He has a bad feeling that the final secret that Thete's holding onto is the exact thing that the older Doctor was trying to get him to share. He sighs. Does he really want to know? And why is Thete resting his hand on his belly like that?


End file.
